Your Heart is my Home
by NightingaleTear
Summary: What if Albus and Minerva had gone to school together? Totally AU.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: What if Albus and Minerva had gone to school together? Totally AU.

Author's Note: This has been on my computer for a while. I actually wrote it before the seventh book came out so it's not in accordance with what Rowling revealed about Dumbledore's past. But since this is AU anyway, I decided that doesn't matter and to brush the story up a bit and finally publish it.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its characters belong to J.K. Rowling who is a genius – as we all know ;)

**Your Heart is my Home**

She hated her big sister.

At least right now, eleven-year-old Minerva McGonagall thought she did. She was standing in a huge entrance hall, facing a set of doors which would probably lead her into an even bigger hall. But Minerva didn't really know for sure what was behind those doors – because her stupid sister had refused to tell her.

Well, at least she wasn't alone. She was surrounded by all the other nervous first-years of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Minerva's sister was about to start her fourth year in Hogwarts, but she had refused to tell her how exactly they would be sorted into the four houses. Minerva's future classmates looked anxious, too, but she was still angry with her sister. What was the good in having a big sister, anyway?

There were, however, a few students who seemed perfectly at ease. One of them, a rather short and plump boy, approached Minerva and offered his hand. "Horace Slughorn. Pleasure to meet you."

Minerva was both surprised and irritated by his behaviour, but she shook his hand. "And your name is?" the boy prompted her.

By now, Minerva was pretty sure that she didn't like him. She thought his behaviour to be very odd. But she usually wasn't rude to others so she told him her name and then he quickly lost interest in her and went on to the next student.

Now the witch, who had introduced herself as Professor Merrythought and Deputy Headmistress, returned. "We are ready for you now," she announced and immediately, all the first-years stood very still and quiet. The big doors in front of them opened and Minerva took a deep breath.

"There is no need to worry," somebody suddenly said next to her.

Minerva wasn't entirely sure whether he had been talking to her or somebody else, but she hissed, "I'm not worried!" And without even looking at the boy, she entered the Great Hall.

She had heard her sister talk about it numerous times, but now that she could she the enchanted ceiling for herself, she was still impressed. But when Professor Merrythought told them what they were supposed to do – put on the Sorting Hat – Minerva wasn't only angry with her sister but also with herself. She should have known that they wouldn't ask the students to do anything dangerous. Nevertheless, Minerva felt her heartbeat accelerating and her hands shaking when Professor Merrythought began to read out the list of names and the sorting began.

It actually was quite exciting. But Minerva wasn't too interested in the faces of the other first-years. She preferred to look around and admire the Great Hall. Only an awfully long name caught her attention. It had at least four forenames, so Minerva only remembered the surname 'Dumbledore'. She thought that this might be the boy who had spoken to her before entering the hall, but since she hadn't looked closer, she wasn't sure.

But the Sorting Hat knew exactly what to do with the boy because as soon as it touched the boy's auburn hair, it cried 'Gryffindor'. Minerva watched how the boy made his way towards his new house table, feeling a little envious, because she wanted to get there, too. Her parents had been in Gryffindor and in Minerva's opinion, all the greatest witches and wizards had been in Gryffindor, too.

Finally, her name was next and Minerva tried not to show how nervous she really was when she sat down on the chair. She put on the hat and there was only one thing she could think of: Gryffindor.

"Ah, I see, you have already made your decision without me?" A high pitched voice was suddenly in her head and Minerva winced slightly. "But you do have a very strong will and seem to know what's best for you. Alright then – Gryffindor!"

Relieved Minerva sat down at her new house table. When the sorting had ended and Professor Dippet had all welcomed them, she already felt at home.

* * *

><p>Minerva stared at her match. It couldn't be too difficult to turn it into a needle. When Professor Caledonian had shown them how to do it, it certainly had looked very easy. The effortlessness with which the Professor had turned wood into metal fascinated Minerva immensely. She couldn't explain why, but she had taken an instant liking to Transfiguration – and it was only her first lesson.<p>

Therefore, Minerva doubted that she would be able to do it as effortlessly as Professor Caledonian. But she really wanted it to work somehow. She wanted to be able to transfigure things because no other branch of magic impressed her as much. So Minerva glanced at her open book once more, reached for her wand and tried to do exactly as the book told her to.

And something actually happened with her match! Well, it didn't exactly look like a needle just yet, but when Minerva looked up, her classmates still seemed more or less clueless what to do. Minerva was just about to call Professor Caledonian when he spoke to the class.

"May I have your attention, please? This is how it's supposed to look in the end." He showed them a perfectly fine needle. "Mr. Dumbledore has succeeded in transfiguring his match. I've never seen this in a _first_ lesson. It is quite a remarkable achievement. 15 points for Gryffindor. The rest of you don't be disappointed. It's…"

Minerva stopped listening. She looked gloomily at her own match-needle hybrid and when the bell rang, she left the classroom without bringing her match to the front.

* * *

><p>"<em>The Witch-Burning took place in the fourteenth century, but it was completely pointless…"<em> Minerva tried to concentrate on her book, but the door was opened and the other girls of her dormitory came in, giggling, laughing and chatting. Minerva sighed and tried to continue with her reading.

"Have you seen her hair? She looks so stupid," Patricia Payne, the girl who slept in the bed next to Minerva's, said and the other three started giggling again.

Minerva wished she knew some kind of charm that would create a wall between herself and them and would protect her from all the noise they were making. It seemed to her that they did nothing but gossip all day long.

"What about you? Do you like her, Minerva?"

"Who?" Minerva asked without looking up from her book since she wasn't really interested in the answer.

"Milda Mercing," Patricia answered and immediately started giggling again. "Don't you think she looks horrible with that…?"

"I don't care what she looks like," Minerva interrupted her and slammed her book shut. "I think you are the ones who are stupid – spending all your time talking about others. Don't you have anything better to do? Studying would certainly do you some good." Having said that, Minerva left her dormitory and for the moment she didn't care about the shocked and offended looks on the other girls' faces.

She crossed the common room and was about to climb through the portrait hole when someone held her back. "Sorry, you dropped this."

Minerva turned around. It was Albus Dumbledore, who held out her notes, which, apparently, had fallen out of her book. She took them from him and muttered a silent 'thanks'. Then she left and went to the library. She knew she hadn't been very friendly, but she just couldn't help it. Whenever she saw Dumbledore, she felt that she didn't like him.

It was just so damn annoying that he was the best in each and every class. It was getting on Minerva's nerves to hear the teachers praise his astonishing talent. Part of her knew that she was merely jealous, but she didn't care. She had to admit, however, that she was curious about the origins of his talent. But she was too proud to ask and whenever he spoke to her, she quickly excused herself or simply walked away.

The library was her favourite place in Hogwarts. The Gryffindor common room might be more comfortable and warm, but it was always noisy in there and there were too many students. Perhaps it was odd, but Minerva preferred the silence of the library, where she could concentrate on studying. She didn't mind being alone because she thought her classmates, especially the girls in her dormitory, to be pretty stupid. So she often spent her afternoons hidden behind the bookshelves, making her homework or just reading for pleasure.

The one thing that bothered her about the library was that Albus Dumbledore seemed to be in here nearly as often as she was. Well, that probably shouldn't have been a surprise because where else would he get all his knowledge from if not from reading books? And normally, Minerva would have taken an instant liking to someone who read as much as she did. But with Dumbledore it wasn't that easy. So Minerva decided to ignore him. But that turned out to be quite difficult because he didn't seem willing to do the same.

While she was reading _Starting Transfiguration, _he approached her table. "May I sit down?"

_No, _Minerva thought. "Yes," she answered.

When Dumbledore had sat down, Minerva saw that the book in his hands was titled _Advanced Transfiguration _and for some reason that bothered her immensely. She didn't say anything, though, and tried to focus on her own book. But she couldn't concentrate anymore. Minerva had to read the same passage over and over again because she simply couldn't remember what it was saying.

She glanced at Dumbledore, but he just sat there and read his book. But why had he sat down at her table if he didn't want to talk to her? Well, because this was a library and that was what people were doing in a library. She was acting really stupid. But none of that changed the fact that she was unable to concentrate on studying any longer. So Minerva closed her book and started to collect her things.

Dumbledore looked up. "Am I disturbing you?"

_Yes, _she thought. "No," she answered.

Without saying anything else, Minerva left the library, and she was pretty sure that he looked after her. Perhaps she was acting stupid, but he was odd, too. He didn't behave like an eleven-year-old. She hadn't seen him laugh or make noise with the others in the common room, not even once. Actually, now that she was thinking about it, she hadn't seen him much in the common room, at all. Well, you could probably say the same thing about herself.

Minerva shook her head and decided to go outside and sit down near the lake, hoping that she would be left alone there.

* * *

><p>Minerva sat on her bed in the dormitory and closed her eyes. Class was over for today and for once she was happy about that because she had felt pretty awful ever since she had gotten up this morning. She had no idea where it came from and she didn't really care. She had simply tried to ignore it because she'd refused to go to the hospital wing and miss school. But now she felt even worse than she had this morning. Her head was throbbing with pain, her arms and legs felt weak and she thought she might vomit if she made any rapid movements.<p>

Minerva sighed when the door was opened and Patricia entered the dormitory. But they were currently ignoring each other and Minerva didn't expect her to stop doing so now.

"You don't look so good," Patricia said, however.

"Thanks," Minerva replied sarcastically and tried to turn her back towards her.

"No, seriously, you should go to the hospital wing," Patricia suggested. Minerva couldn't hide her surprise when she looked at her. "Because, you know, I hate to see people, well… vomit or something like that."

"Of course," Minerva said, her surprise fading at once. Well, she hated to admit it, but Patricia was right. Madame Heathral could probably help her and if she felt better, she could start on her homework.

So Minerva got up very slowly and paused for a moment, willing her stomach to behave while Patricia watched her anxiously. When she felt she could make it to the hospital wing, Minerva left the dormitory and crossed the common room, ignoring the other students. Just when she reached the portrait hole, it was opened from the other side and Dumbledore climbed through. But right now, Minerva was too focused on trying not to display the contents of her stomach for everyone to see, to pay much attention to him.

"Are you not feeling well?" he asked her, however.

"No, don't worry. I'm just peachy." Minerva shot back, feeling too sick to care about her rudeness. Being sick always made her cranky.

Dumbledore didn't seem offended, though. "Do you want me to accompany you to the hospital wing?" he offered.

"No, thanks," Minerva replied curtly. She wanted to open the portrait hole, but Dumbledore beat her to it. "I said _no_," she reminded him.

"I know," he said calmly.

"But?"

"I still decided to do it."

Minerva looked at him in disbelief. Why the hell wouldn't he just leave her alone? But she didn't have the nerves to argue about that now and Dumbledore patiently held the portrait hole open for her. When another wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm her, Minerva sighed and climbed through the hole. On the way to the hospital wing Minerva remained silent and Dumbledore walked just as quietly beside her. In hindsight, Minerva had to admit that a couple of times when she had tripped over her own feet, his steadying arms had been pretty useful. But as soon as the doors of the hospital wing came in sight, Minerva stopped.

"I think I'll manage the rest on my own," she said, making it clear that she wanted him to leave now.

"Get well soon," he nodded.

Minerva gave an awkward nod and then entered the hospital wing.

Next morning she was glad that she'd gone to the hospital wing because Madame Heathral had given her something to drink and ordered her straight to bed, promising her that she would be back to normal after a good night's sleep. And Minerva really did feel better today. The only problem was that she hadn't planned on spending the entire afternoon in the hospital wing. Not that anyone would have missed her. Patricia had certainly been relieved when she hadn't come back.

While Minerva was walking towards the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom for her first lesson of the day, she thought about how Dumbledore had accompanied her to the hospital wing. She still didn't know why he had done it. But then, she didn't really care, or did she?

Minerva reached the classroom just in time and Professor Merrythought entered mere seconds after she had sat down. She explained them what they were going to do today and Minerva was about to open her book when Professor Merrythought said: "While you're reading the chapter, I will collect your homework."

Minerva looked up in shock. Since she had been in the hospital wing for the entire afternoon, she'd had no time to write the essay. But Professor Merrythought was very strict when it came to homework. She had told them from the very beginning that she wouldn't accept _any _apologies. So Minerva was nervously playing with her wand while Professor Merrythought started to collect the essays in the row behind her. Minerva hated to disappoint her teachers, but in a few seconds Professor Merrythought would reach her and there was nothing she could do.

Suddenly, Dumbledore turned around in the row in front of her and put down an essay on her table. Minerva was so stunned that she couldn't react and now Professor Merrythought reached her and took the essay from her table. Still shocked, Minerva looked from her Professor to Dumbledore who sat with his back to her again. Throughout the entire lesson Minerva couldn't really concentrate and when the bell finally announced that it was over and the students started leaving the classroom, she hurried to catch up with Dumbledore.

"What was that all about?" she asked him.

Dumbledore looked at her. "You were sick yesterday and had no time to write the essay."

"Obviously. And?"

"I had rewritten my essay, so I had two versions and you needed one because Professor Merrythought isn't exactly known to be very understanding."

"But why did you give it to me?" Minerva demanded.

"I thought I just explained that to you. I wanted to help you," Dumbledore replied.

"What made you think I wanted your help?" Minerva hissed.

Dumbledore smiled at her. "Are you always this stubborn when it comes to accepting help?"

"What if I am?" Minerva shot back.

"It's not wise to build walls around yourself. Life is difficult enough as it is," he said quietly.

Minerva didn't know what to make of this odd statement. "What would _you_ know about life? You're eleven years old!" she reminded him and headed towards their next classroom.

* * *

><p>The pile of books was so high that Minerva almost vanished behind it. She had collected almost every book that could offer any information on the Sleeping Draught because Professor Vale had threatened them that those students who wouldn't be able to produce a perfect Sleeping Draught tomorrow would help clean out the cupboards and cauldrons. Minerva was one of the best students by now, but she had her difficulties with Potions.<p>

When the librarian told her that they would close now and that it was time to return to her common room, Minerva borrowed the most important books and, ignoring the fact that she was breaking school rules, settled down in an empty classroom instead. In the common room it would simply be too loud to study. And Minerva had absolutely no intentions of failing this test tomorrow – not only because she didn't want to clean those disgusting cupboards, but because she wanted to impress Professor Vale. So she opened all her books and notes and continued studying.

Minerva totally forgot her surroundings, but when she could barely keep her eyes open any longer, she finally decided to go to bed. It was probably around midnight when she hurried through the dark and silent castle, hoping that she wouldn't run into the caretaker or some teacher. Minerva was sprinting up the stairs when it happened. In her hurry, she forgot about the trick step. When she stepped on it, it vanished and her foot became stuck between the steps.

Minerva fell. Her books and notes scattered all around her and she could barely stop herself from crying out in pain when she twisted her ankle. Minerva lay on the stairs for a few seconds and tried to pull herself together. Then she tried to free her foot, but it only caused tears of pain to run down her cheeks. _Damn it, _Minerva thought_._ She should have gotten used to this step by now and this had been the absolutely worst moment to forget about it.

It was around midnight and she should have been back in her common room hours ago. What was she supposed to do now? Minerva had never realized how scary Hogwarts could be. In the darkness she couldn't see much, but those silent noises all around her were the most upsetting. Whenever something sounded a bit like footsteps, she held her breath. On the one hand she wanted to be found, but on the other she knew that if the caretaker or a teacher found her, she was in for trouble.

But after a while Minerva started trembling from the cold and her foot was hurting and she began to think that she would gladly accept the punishment as long as anyone would get her out of this trap. Then she heard them and this time she was absolutely sure that it was footsteps. Her heartbeat accelerated and she expected to see the light of the caretaker's lantern closing in on her every second now. But it didn't, even though the footsteps were coming closer. Suddenly, a wand lit up in front of her.

"Minerva?"

She couldn't believe her eyes. Right in front of her stood Albus Dumbledore. Minerva wasn't sure whether she felt more like crying or laughing. "What are you doing here?" she asked instead.

"_You_ are asking _me _what I am doing?" Dumbledore asked, however, instead of answering.

"Alright, never mind that now," Minerva said.

"I assume… the trick step?" Dumbledore asked and lowered his wand so that the light fell upon Minerva's foot.

"Oh no, I'm just lying here because it makes so much fun," Minerva shot back sarcastically. Dumbledore ignored her comment and tried to pull her up. A silent moan escaped Minerva's lips.

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore apologized immediately.

"It's alright. I think I just twisted my ankle," Minerva explained. Dumbledore nodded and carefully continued to free her foot. "Thanks," Minerva said and pulled herself up, clinging to the stair railing.

"You have to go to the hospital wing," Dumbledore told her.

Minerva stared at him. "Are you crazy? It's after midnight. I can't show up there now. I should have been in the common room hours ago." She tried to put her weight mostly on her other foot and to climb up the stairs like that.

"You won't make it to the common room on your own," Dumbledore said calmly.

"Yes, I will!" Minerva snapped.

"No, you won't."

Minerva ignored him and tried to make her way up the stairs, but her foot gave in and she sank back down. She looked up at Dumbledore. "What do you want from me?"

"To let me help you to get to the hospital wing," he said.

They looked at each other. "I hate déjà vus," Minerva sighed eventually. But she smiled tentatively when she reached for his hand. Dumbledore helped her up and they slowly made their way towards the hospital wing. When they got there, Minerva sat down on one of the beds and tried to brace herself for the trouble she would be in as soon as they woke up Madame Heathral. Why did it have to be Dumbledore who had found her? No other student would have insisted on dragging her to the hospital wing.

The matron really didn't look very happy when Dumbledore had woken her up. "What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?" she asked.

"Err…" Minerva began.

"She slipped on the stairs leading down from her dormitory to the common room," Dumbledore answered for her. Minerva looked at him in surprise.

Madame Heathral yawned. "Well, why did you get up at all?"

"Err… we have a very important lesson tomorrow and I couldn't sleep and decided to look something up in a book I had left in the common room," Minerva lied

"And why did _you_ bring her here?" Madame Heathral asked Dumbledore.

"I was in the common room, studying," he replied quickly.

Madame Heathral shook her head and muttered something that sounded like 'first-years'. She had a look at Minerva's ankle and then touched it with her wand. "Try moving it." Minerva stood and nodded when there was no more pain. "Alright, try to be more careful next time and thank your little friend here. Oh, and go back to bed now." Having said that, she went back into her office.

Dumbledore and Minerva left the hospital wing. "You helped me out – _again_," Minerva said.

"It seems that I'm good at it." Dumbledore smiled at her.

"You're good at _everything_," Minerva corrected.

"Is that why you don't like me?" Dumbledore asked.

Minerva looked at him in surprise. Did he really have the correct answer to everything? "Do you know that you're scary?"

"Scary? No, it was never my intention to be scary," he answered, taking her statement way more seriously than she'd meant it.

"I know. It was just a joke," she hurried to clarify because she suddenly had the odd feeling that this was a touchy spot. "It's just that you are so serious all the time and you seem to know everything. And you're right, of course. It was bothering me. But why the hell am I telling you this? Well, I guess I'm in your debt – twice, actually." Minerva paused. "Why did you help me, anyway? I wasn't very… let's say… nice to you."

"No, but you fascinated me somehow," Dumbledore replied and when Minerva threw him an incredulous look, he added, "You were different. I always saw you in the library, alone and reading. I've never met someone who was that fascinated by books and I thought maybe we have something in common. You didn't know me, so I didn't take it personally what you said to me."

They reached the portrait of the fat lady and climbed through it into the empty common room. "Alright, then tell me, why are you so good at everything? How come you know… what you know?" Minerva finally asked.

There was a short pause. "Well, I read a lot," Dumbledore then said.

Minerva didn't look convinced. "So do I."

"See, and you're good."

"But not as good as you are. All the teachers adore you."

Dumbledore shrugged. "I can't explain it. And they're exaggerating. I'm not special and you're as good as I am."

Minerva shook her head. "It's nice of you to say that. I didn't know how modest you are."

"You couldn't. As I said before, you didn't know me."

"Oh, I'm a fast leaner," Minerva said and Dumbledore actually smiled.

"I guess we really should go to bed now," he said, however. Minerva nodded and headed for the stairs that would lead to the girl's dormitories. "And watch out for trick steps."

"Oh, I will," Minerva assured him. "And before I forget… thanks a lot."

"My pleasure," Dumbledore replied. "Good night."

Minerva shook her head. She'd never met an eleven-year-old boy like him. But she began to realize that he wasn't as bad as she'd thought. So she looked at him and smiled. "Good night."

Next morning in the Great Hall Minerva scanned the Gryffindor house table. When she had found who she'd been looking for, she hurried towards him.

"May I sit down?" she asked.

Albus looked up and smiled. "Of course. I would be delighted if you did so."

"You are really something," Minerva laughed and sat down. "So, Albus, why do you have four names?"

Albus laughed. She didn't know, of course, but he hadn't been laughing for a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't think I understand this, Ric. If you add dragon skin after the ledrah onion it neutralizes the effect, doesn't it?"

"What?"

Minerva looked up from her potions book to focus on Albus who sat across from her. The table between them was laden with books from the library. That was pretty much usual for them, but right now they were actually studying for the end of term exams of their third year.

"Aren't you listening to me?"

"I'm trying. But the stupid nickname distracted me," Albus replied.

"It's not stupid if I'm calling you 'Ric'. There's an idea behind it. And you're calling me Min. Same nickname right for everyone," Minerva disagreed.

"I'm calling you Min because your name is Minerva. That makes sense. But to pick the ending of my third name, even though I have four different names to offer, is complete nonsense." Albus shook his head.

"That's because I didn't took it from your name, but from God_ric _Gryffindor."

"That's not any better because my name isn't Godric Gryffindor."

"No, but you could be his grand-grand-grand-and so on son," Minerva explained, grinning.

"I'm not his grand-grand-grand son," Albus insisted.

"Who knows? In my book, you could be. And that's why I like it. I couldn't just call you Al – now _that_ really sounds stupid."

Albus shrugged. "You could just call me Albus."

"Everybody's calling you Albus. But I'm your best friend so I should have a special name for you. By the way, you're the only one who's calling me Min, too."

"Really? What about your sister?"

Minerva snorted. "Well, she's only doing it to annoy me. So, you are the only one who's _allowed_ to call me Min. But although you have an awfully long name, it's pretty difficult to find a nickname. But maybe I can come up with another one."

Albus sighed. "Alright, let's talk about something else. What was your question again?"

"I didn't get this part about the Essence of Life," Minerva repeated.

"Excuse me. Are you studying?" A handsome boy with blond hair approached their table.

"No, we're only pretending," Minerva replied sarcastically and looked up. "Oh, hi Sean."

"Hi, sorry to disturb you. But I have my Potions exam tomorrow. Fourth year, you know, not quite OWL-year, but still… I wanted to ask if I could have that book." He pointed at one of the books on the table.

"Sure," Minerva answered and gave it to him. "Good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks, Minerva." He took the book and left.

Albus watched him leave and then looked at Minerva. "How did you know him?"

"Oh, I don't really know him. When I was in the library yesterday, he sat down next to me and we kind of talked," Minerva told him.

"Really?"

"Yes, maybe you've seen him before once or twice. He's a forth-year in Ravenclaw."

"Yeah, he made that clear." Albus snorted.

"Don't you like him?" Minerva asked.

"Do you like him?"

"I don't even know him," Minerva shrugged.

"You gave him that book," Albus pointed out.

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Yes, because he asked for it."

"It was yours."

"No, it was the libraries'. That's a really strange conversation we're having right now," Minerva said, frowning.

"Alright, let's get back to Potions," Albus agreed.

Minerva sighed. "I think I'm fed up with Potions. Let's do something else."

"How about… Transfiguration?" Albus suggested.

Minerva chuckled. "Do you want to study ahead for the OWLs or what?"

"I'm not that good."

"No? So it wasn't you who _accidentally_ transfigured Patricia into a mirror last week?"

"It _was _an accident and it was your idea!" Albus defended himself.

"_I_ just said that since Patricia's looking into a mirror all the time, you surely would do her a favour by transfiguring her into one. I never said that you should actually do it!"

"But meanwhile you transfigured your teapot into a ferret that bit my wand hand and when I winced, it just happened," Albus explained.

"Very reassuring to know that you accidentally transfigure people just by nearly dropping your wand."

"As I recall, you thought it was hilarious. You didn't stop laughing until we were at lunch."

"Well, it was funny," Minerva said and laughed at the memory.

"I don't think Professor Caledonian agreed with you," Albus said thoughtfully.

"Professor Caledonian was so stunned and impressed that he almost forgot to transfigure Patricia back," Minerva reminded him.

"Perhaps he also thought that Patricia would make a fine mirror," Albus suggested with a smile on his lips and Minerva chuckled. "Alright, let's skip Transfiguration. What about Charms?"

Minerva was still sniggering. "_Big_ difference," she said.

"No, wait, what about that summoning charm? I haven't yet managed to call something that's not in the same room with me," Albus remembered.

"Well, that's because you tried it for the first time only yesterday and it's stuff for the fourth year," Minerva explained.

Albus looked surprised. "But why did you ask me to do it then?"

"I skipped to the wrong page."

Albus looked at her and shook his head in disbelief. He smiled. "How about a break then?"

"Sounds good," Minerva nodded and they closed all the books and left the library. "Let's take a walk along the lake," Minerva suggested because the sun was shining brightly and most students were already outside. Albus nodded and they left the castle.

"Hey, you two." Minerva sighed when her sister walked up to them. "Shouldn't you be studying?"

"Right back at you," Minerva shot back.

"I learned enough for my entire life last year." Minerva's sister was in her sixth year at Hogwarts and referred to her OWL-year. To Minerva's satisfaction, she had passed well but had only achieved the average number of OWLs. "So what are you two going to do?"

"Just take a walk," Minerva replied shortly. "Bye then." She pulled Albus along and left her sister behind. "I'm counting the days until she finally leaves Hogwarts." Albus smiled, but didn't say anything. "You are so lucky that your brother is younger than you."

"If you say so."

"Yes, big sister or brothers are so annoying," Minerva complained while they began walking around the lake.

"Maybe they just want to protect their younger brothers or sisters," Albus suggested.

"Protect from what? No, at least not my sister. But let's talk about something else. What are you going to do over the summer?"

Albus hesitated. "Nothing special, I think."

"I'm sure we will take one of those family trips again," Minerva said without much enthusiasm in her voice.

"Sounds nice," Albus replied nevertheless.

"No, not really. But we won't be gone for more than a few weeks. Perhaps we could meet," Minerva suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Albus disagreed, however.

"Why not?"

"I doubt that I will have time to meet with you."

Minerva looked surprised. "But you just said that you have no plans."

"Well, it depends on how you define 'plans'. I'm sorry, but I can't. Maybe next summer, alright?"

"Is everything alright with you?" Minerva asked, looking worried.

"Of course," Albus replied curtly. "Hey, look over there!" He pointed at a few of their classmates who tried to throw Patricia into the lake. But Minerva's eyes lingered on her friend's face for a little while longer. But Albus refused to look at her so Minerva shrugged and turned to watch how Patricia disappeared into the lake.

"Oh my god, I've forgotten everything!" Minerva looked at her porridge, not feeling hungry at all.

"No, you haven't," Albus replied quite calmly.

"Yes, I have! I don't remember how to stir the Essence of Life." Minerva gloomily pushed away her glass of pumpkin juice.

"Clockwise," Albus said while scanning the front page of the _Daily Prophet_, which they had subscribed together.

"And what you have to add after the ledrah onion."

"Dragon skin," Albus replied.

"See, you have to tell me everything!"

Albus looked up. "Calm down, Min, alright? Look at me! You are the most talented witch in our class and probably the whole school. You've studied hard and you can do all this stuff in your sleep – so don't panic! It was the same last year and the year before last year, remember? So, no need to worry. You'll do fine."

Minerva looked at him and smiled. "Thanks. I guess I just needed to hear that again. I'm feeling much better now – till next year's exams."

Albus shook his head. "Why do I get the feeling that you're doing this on purpose?"

"I have no idea."

A few hours later they had passed this year's exams and after the end of term feast the school year was actually over. Minerva didn't really want to leave Hogwarts. She liked it here. But she kept telling herself that two months without school couldn't be all that bad. When she came down the stairs, Albus was already waiting for her. They walked down to Hogsmeade station together with all the other students and spent the time on the train playing wizard chess. When they arrived at platform 9 ¾ and got off the train, Minerva saw her parents already waiting for her and her sister.

She turned around to Albus. "Well, if we can't see each other, then promise me that you'll at least write a lot!" she demanded.

Albus hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "I will."

"Great. Your family's not here yet?" Minerva looked around though she had never actually met his family.

"No, they're probably late again," Albus said, not even looking for them.

"Oh, should I…?"

Albus shook his head. "No, your family is waiting for you."

"Alright, then have a nice summer and don't forget your promise!" Minerva said, smiling.

"I won't," Albus replied.

Minerva hugged him. "See you on the first of September then." She walked towards her parents, but turned around once more and waved.

Albus waved back and watched how Minerva left the platform with her family. While he was watching, a cold hand suddenly gripped his shoulder and he didn't have to turn around to know whose shoulder it was.


	3. Chapter 3

Platform 9 ¾ slowly filled with families who accompanied their children to say goodbye to them. Albus sat on one of the benches all by himself and tried to ignore all the hugging and kissing around him and to stay focused on the entrance. His summer had been as dreadful as the last ones or perhaps even a bit worse. It seemed that the older he got, the more his father tried to control him, to force him to listen to his every word and of course, to study.

Albus had learned to live with it. Or perhaps, it was quite the opposite. He wasn't actually living, he merely continued to exist as the perfect, obedient son his father wanted. The problem was that the more his father focused on Albus, the less he cared about Albus' mother and brother. Albus was willing to endure whatever his father said or did to him, but he was bleeding inside when he heard his father abuse his mother and brother and there was nothing he could do to help them. His father always took away Albus' wand as soon as they came home.

When Albus had stood on this platform at the end of last term, looking at Minerva, who'd asked for nothing but a few letters, he had been determined to put an end to it. He had been determined to refuse to hand over his wand to his father. But when they'd come home and his mother had come forward to greet him, his father had put her under the Cruciatus curse and Albus again had been forced to give in. Sitting in his room later that day, he had told himself that he couldn't allow this to continue any longer.

But it didn't matter how much he wanted it, he couldn't stand up to his father. He was trapped in a cage of childish fears, having never been given love or encouragement from his parents and he simply couldn't find the strength to break this cage.

When the first of September had approached, Albus had been afraid that his father might not allow him to return to Hogwarts because with each year Albus became more powerful. But since this was _exactly_ what his father wanted, he had no choice but to let him go. And Albus knew that this was his only chance – to use his time in Hogwarts not only to enhance his magical abilities, but to gather strength for when the day would finally come…

So now he was waiting for the one person on earth who could make him forget and deal with all the hatred he was hiding inside, even though she had no idea what she was doing for him. But Albus wasn't sure whether she'd still want to be friends with him. His father had handed him the letters she had written him so far only after several weeks and had allowed him to write back just this once.

Albus was suddenly pulled from his reverie when she appeared on the platform together with her parents and sister. He rose to his feet and their eyes met. She turned around to give her parents a quick hug and then came running towards him. She stopped when she'd reached him and folded her arms across her chest.

"You pathetic, little liar! One letter in two months? Perhaps that's writing in your book, but it's certainly not in mine!"

Albus had already braced himself for this kind of greeting, so Minerva's rudeness didn't shock him. What did surprise him, however, was the way she looked. He had thought about her numerous times when he had been locked up. But she had changed. She had grown a few inches over the summer and somehow that made her look more adult and beautiful. But the way she looked at him was still familiar – with that fiery sparkle in her beautiful green eyes.

"I'm really sorry, Min. I…" Albus hesitated. Although he'd had all summer to think about it, he hadn't come up with a good excuse.

But Minerva didn't seem to expect one. "I never thought I would say this to you, being Hogwart's brightest student ever and all, but apparently, you're a real lazy bone over the summer."

Albus frowned because he had been accused of many things, but never of being lazy. But Minerva of course didn't know what his summer had really been like… Once he had considered telling her about it, but then had quickly decided not to. Minerva was already giving him all the help he needed and Albus didn't want her to pity him.

"I'm sorry," he merely repeated.

"Forget about it and…" she stepped closer and kissed him on the cheek, "it's so good to see you again." Minerva smiled and Albus couldn't help but do the same and he enjoyed it immensely. "You've grown – quite a bit," Minerva told him now.

"And you look stunning," Albus replied although he had thought more along the lines of 'breathtaking' and 'gorgeous'.

"Flatterer," Minerva shot back, but she was still smiling. "Come on. Let's search for an empty compartment." She nodded in the direction of the train.

"Don't you want to…?" Albus looked at her parents.

"I already said goodbye to them and they are all sentimental because it's my sister's last year and all. I don't stand all the crying and hugging."

Albus smiled though he thought that Minerva didn't appreciate her family the way she should. They got onboard the Hogwarts Express and sat down in an empty compartment.

Minerva looked at him. "So, since you didn't write to me, you now have to tell me what you did during the summer and don't you dare leave anything out!"

Albus hesitated. "Well, the thing is… there is nothing to tell."

"You're kidding me! It's been two months. You must have done something!" She threw him a scrutinizing look, which she was pretty good at.

"Um… reading?"

Minerva looked at him in disbelief for a few seconds, but then she shook her head and smiled. While the Hogwarts Express left the station, she said: "Next summer we'll do something together. Promise."

* * *

><p>Albus put his feather aside. "You didn't!"<p>

"Oh yes, I did." Minerva looked quite pleased with herself.

"You turned Patricia's blanket into a rat?" Albus grimaced at the thought. "I didn't hear any screaming."

Minerva giggled. "Then you must have been far, far away at that moment. I swear you could have heard her screaming down in the dungeons."

"You can be really mean, you know," Albus said, but smiled. "Perhaps though, it would be easier if you and Patricia just… tried to work it out, whatever that is between you two."

"Probably. But this way I get so much more extra practice for my transfiguration skills. Although, officially, it was an accident, of course."

"Of course," Albus nodded and watched her laughing. "You're in a good mood, today," he then said.

"Well, why shouldn't I be?" Minerva asked and focused on her homework again.

"Excuse me."

They both looked up. Sean Cooper had approached their table. "Want to borrow a book again?" Albus asked, remembering their last encounter.

"No, thanks. Actually, I wanted to ask if I could have a quick word with you." He looked at Minerva who seemed pretty surprised.

"Um… of course," she said, though, and they walked a few steps away, rounding a few bookshelves.

"I tried to catch you alone. But you and…"

"Albus," Minerva helped him out.

"Right. You seem to be together all the time," Sean began.

"Well, we're close friends," Minerva replied, having no idea where he was going with this.

"Close, but friends?" Sean asked and looked like the answer to this question was pretty important to him.

"Of course friends," Minerva replied, getting more and more irritated.

"Good, because I thought maybe you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

This question totally caught Minerva of guard, but finally she understood what this was all about. He was asking her out on a date! Immediately, her heartbeat rang unusually loud in her ears. "Um… why, yes, why not?"

"Great. I'll meet you in the entrance hall then," Sean suggested, a big smile on his face.

"Um… right. See you then." Minerva watched him leave and then returned to their table. When she sat down, she felt her cheeks burning.

"What did he want?" Albus asked in a flat voice.

"I think… he asked me out on a date," Minerva replied and looked at Albus. She suddenly realized that she had never thought about their friendship as more than… a friendship, but that it might look that way to others. She had simply never considered the possibility. Well, to be honest, she hadn't thought much about boys in general until now. Plus, when she and Albus had become friends, they'd only been eleven years old. But what about now?

"Really?" Albus asked, but he didn't really sound surprised. "What did you say?"

"Well, yes, I think."

Albus smiled crookedly. "You think?"

Minerva shrugged and looked out of the window. "I don't think I can concentrate on Defence against the Dark Arts any longer. I'll go and have a short walk around the lake. Are you coming with me?"

"No, I'll finish this."

"Oh, okay. See you at dinner then." Minerva left the library, feeling confused that it didn't bother her to go without Albus. She wanted time to think. But what exactly did she want to think about?

* * *

><p>Albus was sitting in one of the chairs in the common room, facing the foot of the stairs to the girl's dormitories. Perhaps he was imagining things, but it felt like Minerva needed longer these days than she had before. Several minutes later, she finally came down the stairs.<p>

"Ready to go?" Albus asked.

Minerva's smile suddenly faded. "Oh no, I'm so sorry."

"About what?" Albus asked, frowning.

"I totally forgot that we'd planned to go to Hogsmeade together," she explained.

Albus shrugged. "That's alright."

Minerva looked pretty uncomfortable. "No, that's not what I meant. Do you remember Sean?"

"Sean? Oh, Cooper, yes," Albus nodded and thought he knew where this was going.

"And that he asked me out on a date? Well, that's today. It's my fault. I forgot to tell you. I'm sorry."

"Oh, that's okay," Albus said.

"No, it's not. But I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"We've already been to Hogsmeade together. Don't worry. I'll make it through the day without you," he tried to assure her with a smile.

"You're not mad at me?" Minerva's eyes were pleading with him.

Albus couldn't help thinking that he'd never be angry with her if she looked at him like that, but he didn't say it out loud. He just shook his head and smiled. "Go ahead and have fun."

"Alright, see you at dinner then." Minerva smiled at him and left the common room.

Albus watched her leave. He hadn't really been surprised when Sean had asked Minerva out. He shouldThat he shushou have expected it. Minerva was beautiful and Cooper was probably not the only boy in this school who had noticed that. Well, Albus had been the first to notice it. But he was her best friend. He couldn't just ask her out on a date like Cooper had. Their friendship was far too important to him. Minerva was too important to him. Besides, did he _want _to ask her out?

It was strange. As an eleven- or twelve-year-old Albus had never even thought about this. But when Minerva had showed up at the station at the beginning of this term, things had changed. For the first time, Albus had noticed different things about her. That the colour of her eyes reminded him of emeralds and that he loved the way her black hair always framed her beautiful face.

But why would he ask her out on a date? They were together all the time, anyway. Of course, that might change now. Well, that was only to be expected. Minerva didn't belong to him, after all. Albus shook his head and tried to get rid of these strange thoughts. Minerva was out on a date with a guy she hardly knew. That was it. Perhaps they wouldn't even get along. That was the thing about relationships. They could be over as suddenly as they had begun. It was different with their friendship.

So instead, Albus thought about what to do now. He could just stay here, of course, but he actually still needed something for Minerva's birthday. So he decided to go to Hogsmeade, after all, and it didn't take him very long to find a present for her. He bought her a set of emerald earrings because when he'd seen them in the store, he had known immediately that they would go perfectly with her eyes. He hadn't originally intended to buy her jewellery, but in the end, it was more personal than a book.

It was quite chilly out on the streets and many students headed towards the _Three Broomsticks_ or someplace else where it would be warmer. Albus thought about going in as well, but through one of the windows he saw Minerva and Sean. He was holding her hand and she was laughing about something. Albus hesitated and then decided to return to the castle.

The afternoon passed and Albus sat down for dinner. He had just filled himself a glass of pumpkin juice when Minerva sat down on the bench beside him.

"Hey," she said. "Wow, that was quite a day."

"Really? So, your date went well?" Albus asked, trying to sound indifferent about it.

"Yes, it did. Sean's very nice. He's bright and... sweet." Minerva smiled and sipped at his pumpkin juice. "Oh, may I?" she then asked, raising his glass of pumpkin juice in her hand.

"Sure," Albus nodded, glad that he had been spared the need to comment on her description of Sean. He had thought about what a best friend would probably be saying, but the words simply wouldn't come, which made Albus angry with himself for being so selfish.

But Minerva didn't even seem to notice. "So how was your day?"

"Well, I took a short trip to Hogsmeade myself," Albus replied.

"Good. How about a game of chess after dinner?"

Minerva looked at him with that all too familiar smile and Albus realized that she would still be his best friend no matter what happened with Sean or any other boy. So he nodded and smiled back at her.

* * *

><p>After she had said goodnight to Albus, Minerva lay awake in the dormitory. It had been a very exciting day. This morning she hadn't been sure what to expect from her date with Sean and had been pretty nervous. But as soon as they had reached Hogsmeade and started talking, she had relaxed and begun to enjoy it. Sean was really nice and it had been an entirely new experience for Minerva to, well, flirt with someone.<p>

She didn't have many friends. Actually, there was only Albus and with him it was different. They knew each other very well and had fun together and everything, but just as friends did. And now there was Sean, too. But Minerva already had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy to have both of them in her life. Still, Minerva decided to just wait and see. After all, she wasn't sure whether there really was something between her and Sean. But she certainly liked him and she thought he liked her, too…

* * *

><p>When Minerva woke up, she found a big present at her feet. She frowned and realized that she had totally forgotten about her birthday. Today was the fourth of October. But she had stayed up late yesterday, working on a very difficult essay for Potions and hadn't had the time to think about anything else. Now she knew why Albus had smiled at her like that. Minerva sat up and opened the present. It was from her parents and contained a card and several books about Transfiguration she had been dying to read. There were a few other cards and stuff, too. But Minerva had only a short look at them and then got up.<p>

When she went down into the common room, she smiled. Albus was already waiting for her.

"Happy Birthday, Min," he greeted her and gave her a soft hug.

"Thanks," Minerva replied, smiling.

"So you finally realized what day it is?" Albus asked with a grin on his face.

"Yes, that present on my bed was a pretty good hint," Minerva replied. "You could have said something, though."

"Why? I knew you would remember it, eventually. Besides, I often forget my birthdays, too. So, here's a little something for you already. It's a singing chocolate greeting card, but I wouldn't open it. The salesman warned me that it might get on your nerves after a while and that the only way to make it stop, is to eat it up." Albus gave it to her and Minerva laughed.

"Aw, that's nice," she said, looking at the card.

"Would you mind meeting me at the Astronomy tower after dinner?" Albus asked.

Minerva looked surprised. "Why?"

"You'll have to be there to find out."

"Oh, okay, but that's totally mean. You know I hate surprises!" Minerva complained, but Albus merely smiled.

The day passed rather quickly. After dinner Minerva left the Great Hall, curious as to why Albus wanted her to walk all the way up to the Astronomy tower. She was in the entrance hall when somebody caught up with her from behind.

"Minerva." It was Sean.

She turned around to him. "Hi, Sean."

"Hey, I heard it's your birthday today," he began, slightly out of breath.

"Really? Who told you that?" Minerva asked.

"Doesn't matter. But I've got something for you. Would you maybe come with me…?"

"Oh, actually I was about to…" Minerva began, remembering that Albus was waiting for her.

"Just for a second, please," Sean interrupted her, however.

"Oh, well, okay then," Minerva agreed, feeling uncomfortable. Sean smiled and started to guide her in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower, which lay in the exactly opposite direction of the Astronomy tower. "Where are we going?" Minerva therefore asked impatiently.

"Oh, we can just as well stay here," Sean replied and led her into an empty classroom. "I was just looking for a quiet place to talk."

_Well, then why not a classroom __closer to the Astronomy tower_, Minerva thought bitterly.

"I wanted to tell you," Sean began and he seemed pretty nervous, "that I like you very much."

"Um… I like you, too," Minerva replied, feeling a little confused.

"And I bought this for you." He showed her a necklace with a small, golden heart on it.

Minerva's eyes widened when she saw it. "Oh, it's lovely!"

"Yes, and I thought maybe you'd like to wear it as my girlfriend?"

"What?" Minerva looked up at Sean, totally taken by surprise, and everything in her head seemed to go blank.

It wasn't like her to be late. Quite on the contrary. Minerva hated being late. Albus knew that and therefore he also knew that something or someone must have prevented her from coming here. Albus thought he knew who that might be. So he had given up on waiting and had climbed up the stairs to the top of the tower and was looking at the stars now.

Albus should have expected it. Minerva had been on another date with Sean after the trip to Hogsmeade and to Albus at least, it had been clear that it wouldn't be the last. So, Minerva had a boyfriend. Albus was okay with that. It just hurt a little that she had decided to be with him right now instead of coming here as she'd promised she would. But Albus knew he shouldn't be angry with her. Everything was new with Sean and new things were always exciting – more so than the old ones. That didn't mean hat Minerva didn't appreciate their friendship anymore. Albus knew that. But right now, it still hurt.

Minerva hurried up the stairs to the Astronomy tower, hoping that Albus would still be there. Her head was spinning. She still couldn't believe what had just happened. Totally out of breath, Minerva arrived at the top of the tower.

"Thank god, you're still here. I'm sorry that I'm late," she said while trying to catch her breath.

"What happened?" Albus asked curtly.

"Well, I was already on my way over here, but then I met Sean and…" Minerva hesitated. She didn't know what to say.

"Are you two officially together now?" Albus suddenly asked and caught her by surprise.

"Yes, we are. How did you know that?"

"Just hazarding a guess," Albus replied and pointed at the necklace. Minerva hadn't even noticed that she'd been playing with it all the time.

"Oh, yes, he gave it to me." Minerva stepped closer. "I'm really sorry, Albus."

Albus shook his head. "It's okay. It's your birthday after all. So you decide what to do."

"But I really wanted to come. I just could have used a Time-Turner." She tried to smile at him. "So, why did you want me to come up here, anyway?"

Albus looked up at the stars and said: "Just because I like it here. I like looking at the stars. Not to do Astronomy homework… just like that. I think it's good that they constantly remind us that there is something bigger out there than us. And I wanted to give you these." He handed her a small box with her name on it. "But we should go now because it's getting late and I don't want to get you into trouble."

Minerva felt like everything was moving way too fast. She opened the box and stared at the sparkling earrings. "Oh my gosh, they are beautiful!" She looked up, but Albus had already turned towards the exit.

"Glad you like them," he said and began to descend the stairs.

Minerva felt guilty when she looked at the earrings. No matter how many butterflies she felt roaming around her stomach when she thought about Sean, she had no right to treat Albus like this. It didn't matter how she felt about Sean, she didn't want to lose Albus.

"Are you coming or not?" he called from downstairs.

He was still waiting for her… "Yes," Minerva replied and hurried to follow him.

* * *

><p>With a sigh Albus crossed out his last sentence. For some reason he couldn't concentrate on his homework today. Well, actually, he had felt like this pretty often lately and Albus had a theory about that. He was used to doing his homework together with Minerva or at least within her presence. But now she was often out with Sean and sometimes returned to the common room only a few minutes before curfew – depending on how much homework she still had left to do.<p>

And by now Albus had realized that everything went just fine when he and Minerva were in the common room together, studying, but whenever Minerva was out with her boyfriend, he needed twice as long to complete all his homework. _Totally stupid, _Albus thought and shook his head. He knew Minerva was trying to spend as much time with him as she did with Sean, but Albus thought she wasn't very successful with that. But he appreciated it nevertheless. At least, Minerva had never suggested that they should do something together – as in the three of them.

He had barely finished that thought when the portrait hole was opened and Minerva climbed into the common room. She sat down beside him.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"The history essay," Albus replied.

"Ah, right." Minerva reached for a piece of parchment and her feather while Albus wrote his concluding sentence.

"Did you read about the Yule Ball?" he then asked her.

Minerva looked up. "Yule Ball? We're having a Yule Ball?" Albus nodded in the direction of the notice board. "Why?"

"Anniversary of the foundation of Hogwarts, I think."

"Oh, so that's why we should bring the dress robes." Albus nodded. "What do you think about having a ball?" Minerva asked.

The truth was that Albus didn't really know what he was feeling. He was glad to have an excuse not to go home for Christmas, but at the same time he felt guilt for not going home to be with his mother and brother. "I don't know," he said. "Could be good or bad."

Minerva nodded. "I have to tell Sean about it."

_Of course, _Albus thought.

* * *

><p>It had begun to snow and didn't look like it would stop any time soon. But because Christmas was approaching nobody minded. Quite on the contrary, in the afternoons the grounds were full with students who engaged in snowball fights or snowman building contests. So while Albus sat in the common room and did his homework, other students were warming themselves up near the fireplace.<p>

Today, Albus had already finished with everything and when he glanced at his watch, he wondered where Minerva was. She had already broken curfew. Just when he was getting worried, Minerva climbed through the portrait hole.

"Aren't you a little late?" Albus asked when she had sat down.

"I know. What did we have to do for tomorrow?" Minerva asked while she shook snowflakes out of her hair.

"Well, we had those questions in Transfiguration and we were supposed to write an essay about the origins and influences of moonstone."

"Oh no," Minerva groaned and Albus smiled a little because he knew how much she _loved_ Potions. "Have you finished it already?" Albus nodded. "Could I maybe have a look at it?"

Albus smile faded. "What?"

"I totally forgot about this essay and now I'm so tired that I don't think I could concentrate on Potions – not on something that complicated, anyway," Minerva explained.

"So, are you asking me if you can copy it?"

"Well, not entirely." Minerva shrugged. "Maybe just a little bit."

"He's not good for you," Albus said quietly.

"What?" Minerva looked confused.

"You know who I'm talking about." Albus stood up. "You've never asked me if you could copy something before. You always insisted on doing it yourself. If there was something, you didn't understand, you asked me for help, but never to do it for you. You are not the Minerva I used to know." He turned away from the shocked look on Minerva's face.

"Help yourself," he said and left.

* * *

><p>Professor Caledonian was busy telling them something about how to turn mammals into lifeless objects, but Minerva didn't really listen. She had barely been able to sleep last night because she couldn't stop thinking about Albus' words. She had come to realize two things, no actually three. First and most important was that she had indeed neglected Albus. That was the only explanation as to where his anger could come from. And then he was also right. Somewhere between getting together with Sean and sitting here now in her favourite class without even listening to the teacher, she had lost her sense of responsibility. Doing her homework late at night when she couldn't really concentrate wasn't like her at all.<p>

And finally, Minerva had realized how much she hated it if she and Albus weren't on speaking terms. Minerva had tried to talk to him, but during breakfast Albus had already been engaged in conversation with someone else. Still, she was determined to talk to him during lunch. Minerva was just about to actually start listening to Professor Caledonian when someone knocked on the door and Professor Merrythought entered the classroom.

"I'm sorry to disturb you. Miss McGonagall, would you please accompany me to the headmaster's office?"

The entire class stared at Minerva who felt glued to her seat. What could the headmaster possibly want from her? Somehow, Minerva didn't really want to know. But Professor Merrythought looked at her with a grim expression on her face so Minerva decided not to argue. She stood up even though her legs seemed to have greater difficulties to support her weight than usually.

On her way towards the door, Minerva glanced at Albus, who looked just as shocked and confused as everybody else, although for some reason, she had hoped that she would find an answer in his eyes. But Minerva was forced to leave the classroom in a state of confusion, terrified of what was about to happen…


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: This is for pennypotter128 and minervathefeline because they hate cliffies so I really hurried up with the conclusion. Hope you like it ;)

* * *

><p>The school day seemed to pass intentionally slowly. When Albus realized that Minerva wouldn't return to class, he began to worry and to wonder what could have happened that required her presence in the headmaster's office. So he had a hard time concentrating on what the teachers were trying to tell them today and as soon as the bell announced that classes were finally over, Albus hurried back to the common room.<p>

But Minerva wasn't there. Well, he hadn't really expected her to be. If she was still in Hogwarts, it was most likely that she was up in her dormitory, but unfortunately, that was the one place in Hogwarts, he couldn't get to. Standing at the foot of the stairs, Albus cursed the founders of Hogwarts. Had they really thought that boys couldn't be trusted at all? What about an emergency like this one?

While Albus was still thinking about what to do now, Patricia came downstairs. "Patricia! Is Minerva up there?" Albus asked her immediately.

Patricia looked at him and it was painfully obvious that she didn't like him although Albus had given her not incentive to do so – except for being Minerva's best friend, of course. "Yes, she is," she replied, sounding totally indifferent about it. "Or at least, I think it's her. She's hiding under her blanket, bawling her eyes out."

Albus felt the sudden urge to turn Patricia into a mirror again, but managed to calm himself. He settled down in one of the armchairs near the fireplace. So Minerva was crying. Well, he had assumed from the very beginning that being asked to come to the headmaster's office was not a good thing. But that didn't change the fact that he was sitting here now, feeling useless, while Minerva was up there crying.

Albus wished he could help her, comfort her because he was quite used to pain himself. But he didn't expect Minerva to come down to the noisy common room any time soon. She probably didn't want to see anyone – including him. After all, his last words to her had been said in anger… Albus stood up again. It was driving him crazy to just sit there and do nothing. What if he tried to cast a spell on the stairs himself?

No, it was madness to think that he could outwit one of the founders of Hogwarts – especially since he had no idea what kind of charm had been used in the first place. Albus sighed when he realized that he really had no other option but to wait for Minerva to come down eventually. He tried starting on his homework, but all he could think about was how much he regretted what he had last said to Minerva. He still thought it was true, but obviously it had been extraordinarily bad timing to tell her. That didn't make Albus feel any better, though…

* * *

><p>Minerva's eyes were burning and she was pretty sure that they were all red and swollen. But it seemed that finally there were no more tears left to cry. Minerva felt like she was running a fever, but that was probably because she had been hiding under her blanket for what felt like forever. She hadn't wanted to see anyone, especially not the smirk on Patricia's face. Now, however, she couldn't stand it any longer and sat up.<p>

It was totally dark in her dormitory and everybody else was already asleep. Obviously, she had lost any sense of time throughout all her crying. But then, she didn't really care because to her it felt as if the world had stopped turning, anyway. Minerva felt dreadfully alone and her entire body hurt because she had curled herself up like a cat. She couldn't stand lying in her bed anymore, she needed to move – just go down into the common room or perhaps take a stroll through the castle. Who cared about broken school rules?

Her whole life had shattered into pieces, anyway, and there was nothing left – nothing and no one. Maybe she even wanted to be caught by the caretaker and then be thrown out of school. What was the purpose in staying here when everybody else had left her? Minerva didn't want to be alone. When everything had been taken away from her, why had she been left behind? That wasn't fair! Minerva punched her pillow while she asked herself _why _for the umpteenth time. But she didn't get any answers and angry at herself, at her pillow and just everything else, she got up and left the dormitory.

But when she walked down the stairs, she walked right into something or rather someone. Minerva yelped in shock and took a step back.

"Perhaps I should have better given you a punching bag for your birthday," a familiar voice said.

Minerva blinked. "Albus?" she whispered. Light flashed up in front of her and there he was with his wand in hand. "What are you doing here?"

"Having a déjà vu?" Albus suggested, but Minerva couldn't laugh about this comment that referred to one of their very first encounters. Right now, she felt like she would never laugh again in her entire life.

"I'm sorry," Albus said and looked at her, taking in her puffy eyes and dishevelled hair. Minerva looked away. "Let's sit down," Albus suggested and so they did, right there on the stairs.

"You still haven't told me what you're doing here," Minerva reminded him quietly, just to say something.

"I waited for you. What else could I've been doing?"

Minerva looked up again. "But it's the middle of the night."

"I know. But I couldn't get up there so I had no choice but to sit here and wait until you would come down again," Albus explained.

"But I thought… I thought you were angry with me."

Albus hesitated. "I… stand by what I said, but that doesn't mean that I'm angry with you. Just forget about it for now. It's not important." Minerva nodded and looked away again, but she felt Albus' eyes on her. "Minerva… what happened?"

His voice was soft and she could hear how worried he was about her, but also that he hadn't been sure whether to pose that question or not. And Minerva wasn't sure if she wanted to talk about it. But she couldn't imagine how the pain could get any worse and Albus had waited for her for hours after all. He deserved to know the truth.

"It's… my parents," Minerva finally said, "they… they are dead." She hadn't said it out loud so far and that caused another wave of pain and grief to overwhelm her.

Albus stared at her in shock. Minerva could see in his face that of all the things that might have come to his mind, he hadn't expected _this_. Again he seemed to hesitate whether to actually ask the question that was burning inside of him. Finally, he just asked the one word: "How?"

"They were finally taking that trip through Europe they had been talking about for forever," Minerva began to explain, but her voice sounded very brittle and she could barely get the words out. "And you remember how Professor Merrythought told us… that there's a rising extremist… movement in Continental Europe… saying that Muggles are dirt… and should be put in their right place and such… crap… and Mum and Dad were just… at the wrong place at the wrong time… and…"

Minerva broke off. She couldn't say it and she didn't really know what had happened, anyway, just that a demonstration had totally gotten out of control and that there had been several casualties. But right now, she didn't care about the political implications. She just looked up at Albus again and whispered, "And I never really said goodbye to them." Suddenly, fresh tears started running down her cheeks again.

Albus put his arm around her shoulders and Minerva soaked his robe with her tears. "I'm so sorry, Min. I know how you feel," he said.

"No, you don't!" Minerva suddenly snapped. "Your parents are still alive."

Albus looked pained and closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Trust me, I know how you feel," he repeated, though. "You feel like your heart has been torn apart and left a bleeding hole in your chest – one that will never heal. But no matter how much it hurts right now, I want you to know that you're not alone."

Minerva lifted her head a little and looked into Albus' clear blue eyes. "But who else is there?" she whispered.

Albus wiped away a few of her tears. "I am."

Although she had thought it to be impossible, a little warmth started to fill the emptiness inside her and she gave Albus a fierce hug. "Thank you! I don't know what I would do without you. You are my only friend," she whispered into his ear.

"That's not entirely true," Albus disagreed, even though her words had made him smile a little.

"Well, who else is there?" Minerva asked after releasing him again. "My sister? This is her last year in Hogwarts and she wants to leave England immediately after graduation. My aunt to whom they will send me to live now? I don't really know her."

"Well, there's Sean," Albus reminded her, but he didn't look very happy about it.

Minerva remained silent for a few seconds, but then shook her head. "After Professor Dippet had told me, I felt terribly alone. My sister barely even looked at me and you and I were fighting… But I never thought about Sean. I mean he's cute and everything, but he's not as important as you are. You are the only one who really knows me and you were right with what you said about me. I'm so sorry for how I treated you. You are… my best friend."

For a glimpse of a second Minerva had wanted to say something else. But Sean was still her boyfriend and Minerva was far too afraid to ruin everything between her and Albus – especially now that she had realized how important he really was to her.

When she looked at Albus now, it seemed to her as if his eyes were mirroring her own train of thought. "And you are mine," he said, confirming her suspicion.

"Then could you just hold me for a while?" Minerva asked and Albus smiled when he pulled her into his arms again.

* * *

><p>Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and the entire castle had been beautifully decorated. But the students seemed to talk about one thing only – the Yule Ball, which would be held tomorrow night. Minerva had never seen so many students in Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays and everybody looked happy and excited.<p>

But Minerva had a hard time joining their Christmas celebrations. This was her first Christmas without her parents. Of course, none of the other students were celebrating Christmas with their families either. But they could have if they'd wanted to. Minerva didn't have that option anymore. Her parents were dead and even though she knew that it was unfair, she kind of blamed every student she saw, who was wearing a red Christmas cap or whistling a Christmas carol. Minerva wished she could just hide in her dormitory until Christmas was over. But there was someone who wouldn't let her.

"Could you give me that book?" Minerva asked absentmindedly while she and Albus were sitting in the library again. But when she took the book from him, it suddenly turned into a squirrel that wore a red Christmas cap and sang '_Harold, the red-nosed Hippogriff'_. "Albus! Stop it! Okay?"

"What? I didn't do anything!" Albus held his hands up in the air as if that could prove anything.

"Really? So the book just suddenly felt like turning into a singing squirrel?" Minerva said loudly to drown out the singing: '… _had a very shiny nose_…' "And I guess it also wasn't you who made my feather write '_Have yourself a magic little Christmas'_ all over my Transfiguration essay." _'… and if you ever saw him…_' "or who made the candelabra play '_Jingle bells'_?" _'… you would even say it glows…'_

"You have to admit _that_ was funny," Albus chuckled.

"No, I cannot laugh about any of this and you damn well know why!" Minerva's cheeks flushed in anger and she kicked the squirrel of the table. It shrieked and changed back into a book.

Albus sighed. "Listen to me, Min. Your parents wouldn't have wanted this."

Minerva stood up. "How do you want to know what they wanted? They certainly didn't want to die!"

"But I know that they loved you! They would want you to enjoy Christmas. Christmas is all about love, right? And they loved you. So they would want you to be happy, to celebrate Christmas and to go on with your life. Don't you agree?" Albus asked and he really did look pretty worried about her.

Minerva hesitated, but then she slumped into her chair. "Dammit, why do you always have to be right?" Albus just smiled. "Alright, I'll try to be more cheerful, but I'm not promising anything."

"Good," Albus said. "And now please admit that the squirrel was pretty impressive."

Minerva had to smile. "Yes, it was. Show it to Professor Caledonian and he'll let you take your OWLs one year in advance."

"Well, but you would have to stay here then because it certainly won't show up again when you are close by," Albus said, grinning.

"What? Why?"

"You kicked it off the table!" Albus explained, pretending to be shocked.

Minerva knew he was just trying to make her laugh, but she decided to humour him. "Well, it was getting on my nerves. It was singing off key!"

* * *

><p>Albus slowly followed all the other students in dresses or dress robes, who were chatting excitedly on their way to the entrance hall. Personally, he didn't feel very excited and he wasn't really looking forward to the Yule Ball, which was about to start. It wasn't that he totally hated the idea of dancing, but only with the right girl.<p>

When Albus entered the entrance hall, he didn't look around for anything in particular. No one was waiting for him, anyway. But while he watched the other students in their attempts to find their respective dates for the evening, he suddenly saw Sean standing next to a girl Albus didn't know. She was probably in Ravenclaw as well, which wouldn't have bothered him, but she and Sean were holding hands. Something was definitely wrong with _that_.

Albus only hesitated for a few seconds before heading towards Sean and the girl. "Excuse me," he said and the look he got from Sean was pretty icy. But Albus didn't care. "Where's Minerva?" he asked.

"What are you asking me for?" Sean shot back. "You're her best friend."

"And you are her boyfriend…"

"No, I'm not. So, excuse us." Sean and the girl turned around and just left Albus standing there, who had to fight the sudden urge to turn Sean into something really slimy and then step on it.

Instead, Albus turned around and hurried back towards the Gryffindor tower. If what Sean had said was true, then he and Minerva had broken up. But surely, Minerva would have told him about that – unless it had happened only this afternoon. When Albus entered the common room, it was totally empty because everybody had already gone down to the entrance hall. And again Albus had to stop at the foot of the stairs leading up to the girls' dormitories.

He really began to hate them. They always seemed to be in his way and to separate him from Minerva. "Alright, that's enough!" Albus pulled out his wand.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Albus lowered his wand. "Just come looking for you," he said and looked up. Minerva stood at the top of the stairs, but he had never seen her like this. He had never seen her this beautiful. She wore a dark green silk dress that wrapped around her body just right and reached all the way down to her ankles. And she had pinned up her black hair so that only a few strands of hair remained to curl around her face. Minerva smiled when she saw his stunned look and came down the stairs.

"I've just met Sean," Albus told her.

"Really?" The indifference was clearly audible in Minerva's voice.

"What happened?"

Minerva shrugged. "It hadn't been the same since… my parents' death. It just… didn't feel right anymore. And today he kind of flirted with that Ravenclaw girl right in front of me. We argued and then I broke up with him."

"You don't sound very sorry about that." Albus felt both surprised and perhaps a little suspicious.

"Well, I did feel pretty awful afterwards." Minerva shook her head. "But I decided that it doesn't matter. We would have broken up sooner or later, so I guess it's better this way. It's just a damn shame that I had already put this dress on."

Albus was still trying to wrap his head around all this. "So, you and Sean are not together anymore?"

"No, we are not," Minerva gave a very determined nod.

"And you're not going to the Yule Ball with him?" Albus continued.

"Definitely not," Minerva replied. "Although it's pretty annoying that I've dressed up for nothing now."

"Well, not necessarily. Would you perhaps consider accompanying me to the Ball instead, my Lady?" Albus hinted a bow.

Minerva looked surprised. "But you're going with…" she broke off. "Who are you going with? You never told me."

"I'm going with you if you want to," Albus replied.

"But you couldn't know that Sean and I would… You must have…" Minerva looked puzzled. "You didn't ask anyone?"

"I'm asking you," Albus repeated patiently.

Minerva shook her head. "I don't know if I should feel flattered or just be mad at you."

Albus frowned. "Um… I would prefer the first option. Why would you be mad at me?"

"Well, what if Sean and I hadn't broken up? You should have asked someone!"

"I _am _trying to. Do you want to go to the Ball with me?"

Minerva smiled. "You're unbelievable."

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course it is." Minerva laughed and took a few more steps towards him. "Oh, wait a minute." She hurried up the stairs again. "I just have to change something."

Albus sighed and leaned against an armchair. But just a few seconds later Minerva reappeared and Albus suddenly understood what she had been talking about. She had removed the necklace from Sean and was now wearing Albus' emerald earrings, which went perfectly with the dress.

"You look incredibly beautiful tonight," Albus told her when she had come down again.

Minerva smiled. "Thanks. You look pretty handsome yourself." She pointed at his black dress robes before taking hold of his arm and together they left the common room.

The Yule Ball was opened with a great feast. There was lots of food Minerva had never seen in her entire life and the tables seemed to struggle not to collapse because of the sheer amount of food. Everything was really delicious and Minerva had to force herself to stop eating at some point. When all the plates had been emptied, a few speeches followed. There were a few very important guests sitting at the high table tonight such as the Minister for Magic.

Finally though, Professor Dippet removed the tables and said: "And now feel free to dance and celebrate our great school. May it exist another thousand years!" He raised his glass and the crowd followed his example.

Immediately, the Great Hall became very busy. Students started to dance or walk around to chat or to help themselves to something to drink from the bar. Albus rose to his feet and took another bow. "May I have this dance?"

Minerva smiled. "This and all the rest of them." She took his hand and they started to dance.

Minerva couldn't stop smiling while they slowly waltzed through the room. She hadn't thought that she would enjoy this evening so much and it seemed to her that she had never seen Albus more cheerful either. She just let go of everything. Breaking up with Sean didn't bother her anymore and for this very moment even her parent's death seemed to be far, far away.

She didn't keep count of how many songs passed while they were dancing, but eventually her feet started to hurt and they stopped. "Would you like something to drink?" Albus asked her.

Minerva nodded and while Albus went to get them two drinks, she left the dance floor.

"You change your boyfriends like other girls change their clothes, huh?"

She turned around and faced her sister. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, last time I saw you, it was still that cute blond boy and today…"

"Albus isn't my boyfriend. You know him," Minerva interrupted her.

"Oh, and does he know that, too?" Her sister grinned.

Minerva balled her hands into fists to keep her temper in check. "What do you want?"

"Just to have a talk with my little sister." She hesitated. "Will you get along with Aunt Marcia?"

"I'll just have to, won't I?" Minerva shot back.

"Trust me, you wouldn't really want to live with me instead," her sister said, trying to be funny.

"How would you know? You never asked me what I wanted. But I guess you're right. I don't want to live with you! I don't even want to see you!" Having said that, Minerva just turned around and left her sister standing there.

Her good mood had vanished into thin air and she was shaking with anger. The truth was that she and her sister had never been very close. But Minerva didn't want to live with her aunt and she thought it was incredibly unfair that her sister could do whatever she wanted to. In her anger Minerva didn't watch where she was going and ran into… Sean.

They both looked at each other in silence for a moment. "You quickly found someone to replace me with," Sean finally said.

"So did you," Minerva shot back.

"I never had anything to do with Sienna before today. How long have you been cheating on me with that Albus guy?"

"What?" Minerva stared at Sean in disbelief. "Have you all gone mad? Get out of my way!" She stormed passed him without knowing where she wanted to go.

"There you are. I was beginning to think I'd have to use the Four-Point Spell to find you." Albus suddenly appeared next to her. "Are you alright?"

Minerva shook her head. "It's just so awfully crowded in here. Do you mind if we go outside?"

"No, that's fine," Albus replied and gave Minerva her drink. She sipped at it and then put it aside. They left the Great Hall and walked out onto the brightly lit grounds of the castle. They weren't entirely alone here either, but the relative silence was a relief.

"Why do you never look forward to the summer holidays?" Minerva suddenly asked.

Albus hesitated. "I… why do you ask that?"

"Because that's how I feel right now. I don't want this year to end. I don't want to leave Hogwarts."

"I'm sure you and your aunt will get along just fine," Albus said.

"But being with her will constantly remind me of my parents. And no matter whether I get along with her or not, I like it here so much better." Minerva stopped and looked at Albus.

"I know exactly what you mean," he said. "But I'm sure you'll have a great summer even though it seems impossible right now."

"Why do you always know what to say?" Minerva asked him quietly. "You're just… always there for me."

"That's easy because you are there for me as well."

Minerva smiled and for the first time she noticed how beautiful the blue of his eyes was and for some reason it made her feel all warm and happy inside. And she thought that Albus felt exactly the same. It was in the way he looked at her, so…

"Excuse me."

Minerva winced and for a few seconds she felt as disorientated as if she had just woken up from a dream. They both turned around to the unfamiliar voice.

"Are you Albus Dumbledore?"

Albus looked just as irritated. "Yes, I am. And who are you?" Just when the question had left Albus' lips, Minerva thought she remembered the face of the plump boy, standing before them.

"Horace Slughorn. I'm sure we've met before. I heard you'd be the best student of our year, perhaps the entire school. So I thought to myself that I have to talk to you and get to know you. Don't we have Potions together?"

Albus still looked pretty dumbfounded, but Minerva grinned. "Yes, you're right. We _do_ have Potions together and Albus really is the best student Hogwarts has ever seen. So, surely you two have loads to talk about." Albus' eyes widened and Minerva mouthed 'have fun' before hurrying away.

She returned to the castle, but she didn't want to go back into the Great Hall. So instead she headed back towards the Gryffindor tower. Maybe, she thought, it had been good that this Horace had disturbed them in the exact moment he had. Minerva wasn't sure what might have happened if he hadn't shown up or if anything would have happened at all. But she had a strange feeling about that. It was probably only because of all the decorations and the magical atmosphere of the Yule Ball and Christmas, but still…

"Don't you dare do that again!"

Minerva winced when Albus suddenly caught up with here from behind. But she smiled innocently. "What?"

"Leaving me alone with that weird guy."

She chuckled. "Why, didn't you like him? He seemed pretty impressed with you – being Hogwarts' best student and all…"

Albus shook his head and while he held the portrait hole open for her, he said: "I'll get back at you for this!"

Minerva laughed.

* * *

><p>It didn't matter how much Minerva did not want this year to end – it did nevertheless. Together, she and Albus studied for the end of term exams as always and passed them without further problems. But after the exams it was time to board the Hogwarts Express again and leave the castle.<p>

"You know, next year is our OWL year," Minerva said while she looked out of the window.

"Does that scare you?" Albus asked.

"No, not if I'm taking the exams together with you," she smiled. "Let's play a few games of chess."

They played and talked until Minerva looked out of the window again and sighed because they had reached platform 9 ¾. They got off the train and Minerva saw her aunt waiting and waving at her. Minerva sighed and turned around to Albus.

"Give her a chance," he said, glancing at the woman who certainly looked very friendly.

Minerva suddenly hugged him. "I don't think I want to." Albus carefully put his arms around her. "I'll wait with you till your family arrives," she muttered into his chest.

"No," Albus pushed her away from him again, "it's okay. You go and have a good time."

"How are the odds that you'll write to me this time?" Minerva asked and looked up at him.

Albus sighed. "I'll try," he replied, clearly hoping that she wouldn't push it.

She didn't.

"Alright," she said and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll miss you. Enjoy your holidays." Minerva slowly walked towards her aunt and waved back at Albus.

"Hey, honey, who is your friend over there?" Her aunt asked when she had reached her.

Minerva just looked at her with a gloomy expression on her face and her aunt fell silent. They started to walk towards the exit when Minerva turned around again to see that Albus was already gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I know this chapter is shorter than the others and it ends on something like a cliffie, too, but it's my birthday tomorrow and I don't have time to write this weekend, so please don't be mad at me ;) Hope you like it, anyway.

* * *

><p>Minerva rang the door bell with her heart in her mouth. Back at her aunt's house it had seemed like a great idea to go and surprise Albus, but now that she was actually standing on his door step, she wasn't so sure anymore. But before she could turn around and leave again, the door was opened and Minerva took a step back.<p>

"Uh… hi, my name is Minerva McGonagall. I'm Albus' best friend. I'm sure he told you about me or at least I hope he did… no? Well, okay. But we're friends and classmates and I was in the vicinity and thought I could pay him a short visit. Is Albus there?"

"Yes, but he has no time to see anyone." And the door was shut right in her face.

_What in the name of Merlin was that?_

Minerva was too stunned to do anything at first. The man who had opened the door had scared her a little and she couldn't believe that he was Albus' Dad. But then, she didn't know who else he was supposed to be. Still, she had never pictured him like this – although his tall build and his facial features were similar to Albus'. But the expression in his grey eyes had been incredibly cold and annoyed – something Minerva had never seen in Albus' beautiful blue eyes.

Still, she had come all the way here and she wouldn't give up like that. So Minerva took a deep breath and rang the door bell once more. Albus' father was the one who opened again and this time he looked almost angry at her and for a moment, Minerva was tempted to just turn around and run away. But she was determined to see Albus…

"I'm sorry. I must be more annoying than a door-to-door salesman, but I came a long way and I'm sure that if you just let me in for a few minutes – just to say hello and goodbye… I promise I won't stay long, but Albus hasn't written me one lousy letter so far and I have to kick his ass for doing that to me _again_…" Minerva was running out of breath. "Just a few minutes, please."

"Two minutes," Albus' father said and stepped aside.

Minerva sighed in relief, although it had sounded more like a threat than an invitation. "Thank you, Sir."

She entered the house and her feeling of unease got even worse. The entire interior of the house was pretty dark and gloomy. To her immediate left was the kitchen and Minerva glanced inside, only to stop dead immediately.

A very thin woman with long untidy brown hair sat on an old chair and looked as if she had just been in an accident of some sort because she had bruises and barely healed cuts all over her face, arms and legs. But what was most disturbing about her was that she was rocking back and forth while she stared into empty space with glassy eyes which should have been very beautiful because they were of a very deep blue. On the floor next to her sat a boy, who was probably six or seven years old, wore old and filthy clothes and played with a dragon that had lost its head.

"Uh… hello," Minerva said, unsure of what to do, and the woman winced and her glassy look turned into a terrified one. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle…" Minerva realized that the woman didn't seem to listen to her at all and she felt the cold gaze of Albus' father on her. She shivered inside a little and said quietly: "I'll just go on then."

"Over there!" Albus' father pointed at a door in front of her.

"Thank you, Sir," Minerva hurried to reply and then practically ran towards the door. This house and the people in it scared her, and she was horrified by the idea that this was Albus' family and the place where he had grown up all these years… She quickly knocked on the door and then stepped inside without waiting for an answer.

She entered a very small room. The only furniture was a table with a lamp on it and a chair to sit on. But the walls of the room were as high as the room was small and several bookshelves had been crammed inside, which were all stuffed with books. Minerva had never seen so many books in such a small room.

But she forced her eyes away from the bookshelves and onto the table in front of her, where Albus was sitting. "Hey, stranger," she said and in that moment she actually felt like she didn't know him at all.

When Albus looked up, the expression on his face was incredulous at first and then shocked. "… Minerva?"

"Well, at least you still know who I am," she replied and couldn't help looking at the walls again. "In the name of Merlin, this is really incredible! Now I know why you seem to know each and every book by heart. Have you actually read all of these? That would certainly explain why you didn't have time for writing…"

Albus stood up. "Minerva, what are you doing here?"

She looked at him again. "Well, I wanted to see you and since you didn't write me, again I might add, this was the only way to fulfill my promise."

"What promise?" Albus still looked as if he couldn't believe what was going on.

"That we would use the holidays to do something together. Of course, now I know that I should have given you a heads up first. Your father didn't seem very pleased to see me. It was really hard to convince him to even let me see you."

Minerva paused, but Albus didn't say anything. His eyes just got bigger and bigger.

"I left my aunt's house because she was getting on my nerves, but this… Is this a bad time? Your mother… is it your mother in the kitchen? She looks like she was hurt…"

Finally, Albus seemed to find his voice again. "You have no idea," he whispered. "Minerva, you have to go now!"

But she just shook her head. "Your father gave me two minutes and…"

"Aren't you listening to me?" Albus interrupted her, however. "You have to go! Go, leave our house!"

Minerva looked at him and folded her arms across her chest. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you're trying to throw me out."

"That's because I am. Go, Minerva, go away!" He sounded desperate now.

Minerva opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment they heard something from the kitchen – a shattering of glass on the kitchen floor. A female voice started to scream and a male voice shouted something.

Before Minerva had really understood what was going on, Albus grabbed her shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes. "I know you're stubborn, but please Minerva, listen to me. Go, Minerva, please go." And suddenly Minerva could identify the strange expression on Albus' face. It was fear. At first, she had thought all of this to be a bit strange and sad, but now she began to feel really scared.

At that moment the door was opened and Minerva turned around to Albus' father. "Two minutes are over," he said.

Minerva felt sick to her stomach. She looked at Albus, but he seemed to be petrified with horror. She had never seen him like that before. She had never seen anyone like that before. It scared the hell out of her and part of her just wanted to run, but her heart said no.

Instead, Minerva took a deep breath and said: "Yes, I know we agreed on two minutes only, but," her voice shook, "I won't see Albus for another month and he already is the best student Hogwarts has ever seen, so I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if I stayed a little longer…"

But before Minerva had even finished her sentence, she could already see the anger flash in the eyes of Albus' father. "Get out of my house!" he bellowed and made Minerva wince.

She looked at Albus again. He was still motionless, but his eyes seemed to convey a one-word message: 'leave'. But the fear she felt radiating from him and the thought of his mother and brother in the kitchen made it impossible for Minerva to comply. She knew as much as she wanted to leave that she couldn't. But she didn't know where she took the nerves from when she said: "No."

Albus looked like he might die right there on the spot.

"It's not right the way you treat Albus and his brother or your wife and I won't allow…" Minerva instantly knew that she had crossed the line and felt as if her heart was trying to escape through her mouth when Albus' father grabbed her wrist. Minerva gasped in pain under his firm grip, but he started pulling her towards the door, nevertheless.

"No! Don't hurt her!" Albus shouted and suddenly he was moving again. But his father just waved his wand hand at him and Albus was thrown backwards against one of the bookshelves and fell to the ground together with most of the books.

"No!" Minerva cried and tried to free herself to go back and see if Albus had been hurt. Anger rose inside her – an anger she had never felt before. She didn't really think about what she was doing. She was totally overwhelmed by her hatred for this man who had treated Albus with such cruelty.

While he was still pulling her forwards, Minerva pulled out her wand with her free hand and without thinking about it, she pointed it at Albus' father and shouted: "Stupor!"

But she had underestimated Albus' father's magical abilities – even though she should have known better. Faster than Minerva could look, he had his wand raised and her spell blocked. He did let go of her hand, but he also pointed his own wand at her now and a red flesh of light hit her in the chest.

Minerva screamed. Although she had tried to perform a shield charm herself, she was thrown backwards against another bookshelf and fell to the ground. Her head felt like it had been split open and her eyes were stinging with tears. But she managed to look at Albus, who was also still lying on the ground. Their eyes met and a shiver was running down her spine because Minerva had never seen him look like this. Flames of hatred burned in his eyes and the waves of power that radiated from him were so tangible that it scared her.

Albus picked up Minerva's wand and immediately he was back on his feet. "I said…" his voice shook with rage, "DON'T YOU HURT HER!"

A purple flash of light shot out of Minerva's wand. She could see the astonishment in the eyes of Albus' father and how he tried to shield himself, but either he was too slow or it didn't work. The curse hit him right in the chest. He didn't scream, but his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Then the wand slipped out of his hand, his knees gave in and he hit the floor like a stone. There he moved no more even though his eyes were open wide.

Albus conjured up some ropes and tied him up. Then he slowly lowered his hand and the pulsating energy in the room began to fade. It was absolutely still for a few seconds. Finally, Albus turned around and kneeled down beside her. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Minerva shook her head, but she said: "Yes, I think so." Albus helped her to sit up. Minerva looked from him to his motionless father and back again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Albus seemed to be far away with his thoughts. "What?" he asked after a short pause.

"I shouldn't… have come here and I should… I should have left when you… told me to," Minerva's voice was shaking because she couldn't believe what she had just seen, what she had done.

Albus looked at her again. "You're sorry? You don't understand… you don't understand what I owe you…" He broke off because his mother and brother appeared in the doorway.

"…Mother?" Albus' voice was only a whisper. But his mother didn't react, anyway. She slowly came towards them and sat down beside her husband. She didn't touch him; she just stared at him and began to mutter something under her breath. Aberforth looked at his big brother and then sat down next to his mother, gently caressing her arm.

When Minerva saw all this, she couldn't prevent a few tears from running down her cheeks. She might have lost her parents, but Albus' family was destroyed – destroyed by hatred and madness. Now she finally understood why he had never wanted to go home, why he had always disapproved of her complains about her family and she thought she also knew why Albus had never been able to write her.

Minerva looked up at him. He just stood there and watched his family or what was left of it. She felt so dreadfully sorry for him. She got to her feet, too, took Albus' hand in hers and squeezed it. He looked at her, but before he could react in any other way, somebody knocked on the front door. Albus and Minerva looked at the doorway, but neither of them moved.

Finally, they heard how the door was opened and a middle-aged wizard appeared in the door. They both knew that he was from the Ministry. "Hello, we have registered two cases of breaches of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and… Galloping gargoyles!" The man broke off when he saw what was going on. He looked from Albus' still motionless father to his murmuring mother and brother and then at Albus and Minerva.

"What in the Name of Merlin has happened here?"

* * *

><p>He knew that this might be the last time he would see his father and… he didn't feel sorry about that at all. Instead, Albus turned around and didn't watch how the men working for the Ministry dragged him off. He would be sent to Azkaban and he would probably die there, too. Albus didn't feel sorry about that either.<p>

He was at the Ministry. The Wizengamot had just pronounced his father's life sentence in prison. He, Minerva and Aberforth had each given testimony – his mother only as far as she had been able to. She had been sent to St. Mungo's and Albus hoped that she would have a chance to recover from _him _there_. _They all needed that chance. He and Aberforth would live with distant relatives now, but Albus didn't care because he still couldn't believe that they had finally gotten rid off him.

He had imagined what it would be like for years because he had always known that he would have to face him at some point. When Minerva had showed up at his house, Albus had been scared beyond anything he had ever experienced before. His only thought had been that his father would hurt her, too, but that he couldn't let that happen.

Albus still couldn't believe or explain what had happened. He only knew that when he had heard Minerva scream in pain, something had changed within him. Whatever it had been that had held him back all this time, it had just vanished and he had broken out of his cage. The power he had felt radiating from him had surprised him, too, and now he knew that he had been ready for this all along.

And Minerva had made him see the truth. No matter how much hatred Albus had felt when he had stood up to his father, it all came down to love – love for her and the desperate need to protect her. She had given him so much strength for the last four years; in hindsight it seemed only right that it had also been her who had finally given him the courage to free himself and his family. And now Albus felt that all of this hatred and pain was leaving him with each passing minute and he was ready to finally close that chapter of his life. But perhaps, he could open a new one instead…

The man from the Ministry, who had showed up at his house and who had made sure that they had gotten a proper hearing and that Albus and Minerva hadn't gotten into trouble for the breaches of underage sorcery, approached him now. "I'll accompany you and your brother to your relatives in about twenty minutes. Oh, and we'll make a stop at St. Mungo's, alright?"

Albus nodded. "Thank you."

The man smiled, squeezed his shoulder and left him alone. Albus looked at Minerva who stood not too far away from him. She was waiting for her aunt to pick her up. But he had to talk to her first; he had to thank her… even though he didn't know how to put it in words. He walked towards her.

"Are you leaving?" she asked when he had reached her.

Albus shook his head. "I still have about half an hour left.

She nodded.

"Minerva…"

"Why did you never tell me?"

"What?"

Minerva looked at him and her emerald eyes were ablaze. "All those years and you never said a word! You called me your best friend, but you never told me that you were going through hell. When I talked or even complained about my family, you always just fell silent and I never knew how much pain I must have been causing you, complaining about something totally stupid like a boring family trip.

And when you couldn't remain silent any longer, you lied. You lied when I asked you why you didn't like to go home over the summer. You lied when I asked you why you didn't write to me. You lied when I asked you why I shouldn't come and visit you. You… _lied _when I asked you if something was wrong. How can we be best friends if everything you ever told me was lie?"

Albus was too stunned to say anything. Still, he opened his mouth to give it a try, but Minerva wouldn't let him.

"I know it must have been difficult for you to talk about something like that. But when my parents died, I was in pain, too, and I _told_ you. I opened up to you and told you how I felt. I let you help me and you _did_ help me. But you wouldn't let me do the same thing for you. But if we really were best friends, you would have trusted me and…" A tear was running down Minerva's cheek now, "… you would have told me."

Minerva's aunt chose that precise moment to appear and to walk up to them. Minerva looked at Albus for a few more seconds, then she turned around and pulled her confused aunt away with her.

Albus was left standing there in shock. He wanted to run after her, to tell her to wait, but he didn't. He hadn't seen this coming. He hadn't seen this coming at all. But was Minerva right? Well, he had lied to her occasionally, although he had tried to avoid it. But Minerva hadn't understood why he had never told her and in her anger, she had failed to realize how much he cared about her, how much he trusted her and how much she had indeed helped him.

He had to tell her. Albus turned around to look for her. But Minerva had already left.


	6. Chapter 6

It was pouring outside and while Albus sat in the library, he looked up from his books and watched absent-mindedly how raindrops were running down the window panes. It was just another ordinary day in October. It was grey, gloomy and depressing. And that was exactly how Albus felt right now – lonely and depressed. It was almost as if the weather was merely reflecting his mood. But then it would have rained cats and dogs since the first of September.

After that dreadful day at the Ministry, well, actually it had been a good day until Minerva had accused him of having betrayed their friendship. After that Albus had thought of nothing else but what he would say to Minerva when they would meet again on platform 9¾ – how he would explain everything to her.

But when the first of September had finally arrived, she hadn't waited for him on the platform as usually. Albus had met her aunt and she had told him that Minerva was already onboard the train. He had tried to find her, but the train was too large and too full. So he'd decided that he would surely catch her when they'd arrive at Hogwarts. Albus had indeed seen her at the feast, but she'd sat in the midst of their classmates and when Professor Dippet had sent them off to bed, she'd vanished in the crowd so quickly that Albus had to give up and try again on their first school day. During each break he had caught up with her and told her that they needed to talk. But Minerva hadn't let him. She was convinced it wouldn't change anything and always ran away.

Albus had no clue how the weeks had passed or rather how he had survived their passing without Minerva's company. But he knew that this was not at all how he had imagined their OWL-year to turn out. They had always studied so well together. Albus wasn't afraid that he would fail his OWLs without her, but it just wasn't the same. Minerva had always pushed him to perform at the top of his abilities and he felt as if he couldn't explore his full potential without her.

He was abruptly pulled from his reverie when Minerva entered the library. They looked at each other for a few seconds. Albus knew that he was not the only one who felt awful because of this distance between them. He could see it in her eyes. Immediately hopeful again, he opened his mouth, but Minerva turned around and left.

Albus sighed.

* * *

><p>"Don't run away again!"<p>

Albus was determined this time. They had only just been told that they had a free period now because Professor Merrythought had taken ill and when Minerva had returned to the empty common room, Albus had decided to make his final but determined attempt to talk to her.

"Just listen to me for a one second!"

"Why should I?" Minerva actually turned around to him. "It wouldn't change anything. Don't you see that it would only hurt the both of us? Why do you insist on making this worse than it already is?" She left him standing there again and ran up the stairs to her dormitory.

But this time, he followed her. "Minerva!" He called after her, but she didn't stop, of course. Albus saw the stairs, but he was too furious. They wouldn't stop him. Not this time. He pulled out his wand…

* * *

><p>Minerva slumped down on her bed. Why couldn't he give it a rest? Did he think she didn't know how much he was hurting? She knew how much it hurt, dammit! Right now she felt like bawling her eyes out again. But he had brought this on himself, no, he had brought this on the both of them and he wasn't helping anyone if he kept pushing it. Couldn't he see <em>that<em>?

Suddenly the door was flung open and Minerva jumped to her feet again. Albus appeared in the doorway. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing here? This is a _girl's_ dormitory!"

"I know. But nobody's here except you and I had no other option. Anywhere else you would always run away from me."

Minerva shook her head. "But how could you even get up here?"

"Well, you shouldn't underestimate my determination," Albus replied, putting away his wand.

Minerva snorted. "Do you want to frighten me?"

"No, I want to show you how important it is for me to talk to you. So will you listen to me this time?" Albus really didn't look very threatening. His eyes were pleading with her again.

Minerva didn't say anything, but she didn't move either. Well, there was nowhere else she could have gone now…

"Listen, Min, I never told you about what was going on at home because I didn't want to burden you with it…"

"Burden me?" Minerva snapped. "But that's what friends are for!"

"But what would you have done if I had told you? You would have been shocked and probably would have felt sorry for me – and you would have found a way to somehow blame yourself… for not noticing it earlier, perhaps."

"All of that I did,anyway, when I finally found out about it," Minerva told him, folding her arms across her chest.

"But I didn't want to see that look in your eyes once you would have known the truth. I didn't want you to pity me. I didn't want you to treat me any differently than before. And I thought that there was nothing you could do to help, anyway, and I knew that would kill you," Albus desperately tried to explain.

"But I could have helped you," Minerva insisted, however. "I could have… alerted the Ministry."

"You could have, but my father had many contacts there. But that's not the point. I eventually realized, too, that with your stubbornness you would somehow find a way. But the truth is, I was afraid of that. I was afraid because I wasn't ready or at least I thought I wasn't ready to stand up to my father. Oh, I spent every day imagining what it would be like to get rid of him, believe me. But I couldn't. I didn't have the strength... So I decided not to let you help me because I was too afraid. I'm sorry about that now, but there's nothing I can do to change it. I know when your parents died, you weren't afraid to let me help you. You're just so much stronger than I am."

The look in Albus' eyes was enough to break Minerva's heart, but still, she remained silent. She was torn between the desire to listen to his every word, to enjoy this feeling that he was finally confiding in her and an all-consuming bitterness that made her think 'too little, too late'.

So Albus continued. "But I became stronger, too, because just being together with you gave me strength. So you were wrong when you said that I wouldn't let you help me because the truth is that you _did_ help me. You made me stronger with each day you spent with me and when you showed up at our house and stood up to my father, you made me realize that I was ready, that the time had come. So in a way, it was you who freed me and my family. There are no words for how much I owe you for this. And you made me realize something else, too. When my father cursed you and I heard you scream, something happened inside of me because… I couldn't let him hurt you, you know."

Minerva was still unable to say something, but she totally forgot about her former struggle whether to accept his apology or not because something had changed in Albus' eyes. He looked no longer desperate or pleading. Instead, there was warmth and affection in his eyes and it almost seemed as if they were caressing her somehow.

Albus took a step towards her. "I couldn't let him hurt you because you're everything to me. You accused me of not trusting you, but you couldn't have been more wrong. You are indeed the only person I _do_ trust. You are the only person who found a way into my heart because you made me feel like you actually cared about me. You gave me your friendship and…" he carefully caressed a strand of hair out of her face, "… I learned to feel loved and… to love." He gently touched her cheek while Minerva was still just looking at him.

She knew he wanted her to say something, anything, but she just couldn't. She knew Albus' words had come straight from the heart and that way had found their way towards hers, too. But that also made her unable to think. Minerva could only stand still and look at Albus as if she had never actually seen him. And perhaps she hadn't. Not like this.

But while she was looking at Albus, he was looking at her, too, and he also seemed unable to think properly. And suddenly he just leaned forward and his lips touched hers. Only a few seconds passed before he let go of her again, but it was enough to make Minerva's head spin. As if acting on autopilot, she raised a hand and her fingertips touched his cheek and their lips were still only centimetres apart when the door was opened and Patricia and the other girls entered the dormitory.

Minerva winced and then took a step away from Albus as fast as possible. Patricia and the others looked at Albus in shock, but only for a moment. Then they started to giggle.

"Uh… I'll just… go then," Albus muttered and slowly left the dormitory.

* * *

><p>The common room was as noisy as ever, but Albus barely even noticed it. After he had been forced to leave Minerva's dormitory, he had waited at the foot of the stairs for a while. But at some point he had accepted the fact that Minerva wouldn't come down to talk to him. She probably had needed time to think. So Albus had retreated to the quietness of his own dormitory as well, waiting for their free period to end. But once it had, Minerva still hadn't shown up for their remaining classes, which was, of course, highly unusual for her.<p>

So now that classes were over, Albus stood in the common room, watching the stairs to the girls' dormitories, and wondered whether he could dare to go up there again. Somehow, this was even worse than all the other times he had been separated from Minerva even though he had desperately wanted to talk to her. Because during most of those previous occasions he had 'only' been worried about Minerva's well-being; this time Albus was worried that he had crossed a line by kissing her.

Although, for a split second Albus had thought that Minerva was about to kiss him back, but then Patricia had interrupted them. And now he wasn't so sure, anymore, and he was afraid that he might have made everything worse. Since they hadn't been on speaking terms over the last couple of weeks, Albus wasn't exactly sure how much worse it could get. But even though he had hurt Minerva by not confiding in her earlier, Albus had always hoped that she would be able to forgive him at some point. If she wasn't ready to turn their friendship into… something else, however, this kiss might have very well destroyed everything.

Suddenly, Albus had the overwhelming urge to go up there and tell Minerva to forget about everything that had happened that afternoon. But before he could actually do so, Patricia came down the stairs.

When she saw him, she began to giggle again, but then pulled herself together to tell him, "Uh… if you're waiting for Minerva, she's not up there."

Albus looked at her in surprise. Informing him that Minerva was not in her dormitory was probably the nicest thing Patricia had ever done. "… Thanks," he said once he had overcome his initial surprise and Patricia just started giggling again and went to join her friends near the fireplace.

Albus shook his head and left the common room. His first instinct was to check the library, but Minerva wasn't there and in a way, he hadn't really expected her to. Since she hadn't been in class, it wouldn't have been a very good idea to be some place where she could run into some of the teachers who might have noticed her absence.

Perhaps, she was somewhere outside. It was already getting dark and especially cold on this October afternoon, so she probably would have the school grounds pretty much to herself. Also, it wouldn't be all that easy to find her there. But Albus chose the path they had always taken together to walk around the lake and at first, he couldn't believe his luck because after a short while, he actually spotted her standing near the shore, her eyes focused on the horizon.

He walked towards her and then touched her gently by the shoulder because she seemed too lost in thought to have noticed his approach. "Hey."

Minerva winced a little, but to Albus' relief she didn't look alarmed when her eyes found him. "Hey," she said softly.

"Why do you keep running away from me?" Albus still asked her.

"I didn't run away. I just… needed time to think," Minerva replied and looked back at the lake again.

Albus' eyes remained focused on her face. "Because of that kiss…" he began, feeling awkward, "if you're not ready to… we don't have to…" but he just couldn't find the right words. "Whatever it is you want is fine by me. I just don't want to lose you," he finally just told her.

Minerva looked at him again. "It's not that I never thought about… this before," she admitted. "Perhaps that was even part of the reason why I was so angry that you hadn't confided in me earlier." She sighed. "But I'm scared. I don't want to compare us… with Sean and me, but relationships like that just never seem to last. And once they are over, the former lovers fall out with each other… forever." Minerva hesitated and her eyes shown like liquid emeralds. "I'm not sure if I'm willing to risk that… with you."

Albus couldn't prevent a smile from spreading across his face because he was so relieved that Minerva wasn't angry or appalled by his kiss, but that she was feeling the same things he did. "I understand. Believe me, I've been afraid for years that I might lose you. But you're right. You should not compare us with anyone else because we have a friendship that will never be destroyed. I have faith in that now. We will always be best friends, no matter what may develop beyond that."

He waited and gave Minerva time to think about his words. "When you were in my dormitory," she finally whispered, "you said that you have learned to feel… loved and that…"

Albus nodded and although he had been determined to give her time, he couldn't help but interrupt. "I love you."

Minerva's eyes were so full of emotions that Albus had a hard time deciphering them and he felt his heart hammering against his chest. He thought Minerva looked flattered and happy, perhaps even a bit amazed, but still there was some fear… Albus wanted to say more, to tell her that he had never before said these three words to anyone (or at least not as long as he could remember) because he had never loved anyone as much and that he couldn't bear to be rejected unless she really didn't love him as much as he loved her. But he knew it would be too much. This was Minerva's decision.

After what felt like the longest moment of his entire life, Minerva smiled. "I trust you," she said and took a deep breath. "And I love you, too."

The words were so simple, but they changed everything for Albus. Never in his life had anyone said these words to him before and they made his heart swell to twice its usual size or at least it felt like that. He was so relieved and so happy and so full of love for that amazing girl who was so much more than he deserved, but who loved him still – loved him, who had never been anything special to anyone except for his academic achievements… Albus felt a tear glistening in his eyes.

Minerva saw it, too, and now she did look alarmed. "Albus? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, but his voice seemed unwilling to obey him. "No, I'm sorry, it's just… I was so scared…"

"Scared of what?" Minerva asked, but her cleverness provided her with the answer all by herself. "That I might not love you, too?" She shook her head. "Really, sometimes you can be ridiculously self-conscious. I have loved you for years! I might not have realized it, but still…"

Hearing her say it for the second time helped Albus to pull himself together. What remained was the smile on his face. "I know. But it just seemed too good to be true."

Minerva smiled as well. "Then we have to make sure that it feels more real to you." Her eyes sparkled with joy. "Where did we break off again when Patricia came in?"

Albus didn't hesitate and pulled her close to kiss her again – only this time it was much longer and more intense. Now that Albus actually felt the softness of her lips on his, he realized how often he had imagined this and how often he had been so close to just do it. And he thought that something that felt so good just couldn't be wrong at all.

* * *

><p>Herbology was a subject Albus wasn't terribly interested in, after all. He was still a solid E-student, but he didn't really see the point in spending time with it because more often than not he failed to see the differences between all those plants. Minerva had a little more patience with it than he had – although it had probably more to do with her ambition to go for an Outstanding than real interest – but it wasn't her best subject either.<p>

So while they were writing a rather difficult essay about the differences between two plants that looked exactly alike to Albus, neither one of them was as focused as they usually were. Albus kept glancing at Minerva because he was far more interested in watching how that cute crease appeared on her forehead whenever she wasn't satisfied with a sentence she had just written.

Suddenly, Minerva looked up, too, and Albus thought she would tell him off for staring at her, but she said, "Did you know that careers advice starts next week?"

Albus frowned. He had seen a notice on the board in the common room, but he hadn't bothered to read it. These days, he seemed pretty occupied with a certain young witch sitting opposite him just now even though their transition from friendship to something more had been surprisingly easy – as if it had always been meant to be.

"No, I did not," he finally answered her question. "I assume we'll have to talk to our Heads of House about it?"

"Yes, you're scheduled for Monday morning. So I was wondering… do you have any idea what you want to do?"

"Well, the first thing I would like to do once school is over is to travel through Europe for a while," Albus replied because he had been dreaming about that for years. But ever since his father was gone, he had realized that he might actually be able to do it.

Minerva didn't look thrilled, however. "Really? For how long?"

Albus shrugged. "As long as it takes us to see the world."

"Us?"

"Of course, us. You didn't think I would want to go anywhere without you, did you?" Albus smiled at her and reached for her hand.

Immediately, Minerva's face lit up. "Oh, okay then, please continue. What do you want to do after that?"

"You may find it ridiculous, but I thought about being a teacher, maybe," Albus admitted. He liked it here in Hogwarts and he wasn't too modest to know that he was pretty good and he thought teaching others would be the most sensible way to use his talent.

Minerva looked at him in silence for a few seconds. "No, I don't think it's ridiculous. I think it fits you… Yeah, it does," she decided eventually.

Albus smiled. "Really? How come?"

"Well, you know everything, you can do everything, you never lose your patience with anyone and you're good at explaining stuff," Minerva explained.

"You are exaggerating again. You have to stop putting me on a pedestal or you won't be able to reach me anymore at some point," Albus said, frowning.

"I am _not_ exaggerating and don't worry about that last part because I don't know whether you have noticed but I'm not that bad myself," Minerva replied, smiling playfully at him.

Albus laughed. "How could I not have noticed that my girlfriend is the smartest witch Hogwarts has ever seen?" They both smiled and leaned across the table to kiss.

"Alright, then what are _your_ reasons for wanting to become a teacher?" Minerva asked afterwards.

"I think I just like it here," Albus explained to her. "And I think that education is very important, maybe these days more than ever. And if you're particularly good at a subject, why shouldn't you use that talent to teach others what you know? Plus, I think it's a job that guarantees that you will have to use your favourite branch of magic all the time."

Minerva nodded. "Sounds reasonable. Which subject did you think of?"

"Oh, I don't have it all worked out just yet, but maybe Defence against the Dark Arts," Albus replied.

"Really? Well, it certainly is one of the most important subjects."

Albus nodded. "What about you, Min?"

Minerva hesitated. "I'm not sure. I thought along the same lines… I mean… about the defence thing."

Albus raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Could you elaborate on that?"

"You've never considered working at the Ministry, have you?" Minerva asked, however, instead of answering.

"No, I have not," Albus replied.

"Why not?" Minerva asked.

"Well, I just can't say that I trust the Ministry very much. My father had many friends there and I cannot believe that they simply never noticed what kind of a man he was," Albus explained and Minerva fell silent. Apparently, that answer had made her even more reluctant to tell him what was on her mind. Albus took her hand again and squeezed it gently, hoping it would assure her that she could tell him everything. "Do you want to work at the Ministry?"

"I'm not a big fan either, but I thought about… being an Auror," Minerva finally admitted.

Albus hadn't expected that, but now that he looked at her closely, he realized that he should have. "You want to be an Auror?"

Minerva shrugged. "Maybe."

"I don't think so," Albus said and Minerva looked surprised.

"Why not?"

"Because I think you're not interested in chasing dark wizards for a living. I think you're just interested in finding the ones responsible for your parents' death."

Albus could see how Minerva tried to hide the emotions that the mentioning of her parents had stirred inside of her. "And what would be wrong with that?"

"That you would decide to become an Auror because of your yearning for revenge, which is understandable, but nevertheless you wouldn't choose to be an Auror because you actually like the job and you are far too talented to waste all that potential you have in you," Albus said gently.

Minerva sighed, but she lowered the shield she had tried to build around her feelings. "I guess you're right – as always. I didn't really think it through. I just liked the thought that I could make a difference."

Albus now reached for Minerva's other hand, too, and placed them in his. "You will make a difference, Minerva. With your intelligence and your magical abilities you can do anything."

"Great, so I can do anything, but there's nothing specific that I'm good at, nothing that makes me feel like that's what I want to do and nothing else."

"Of course, there is," Albus disagreed and couldn't help but smile a little. It wasn't like her to be self-conscious and fail to see the obvious.

Minerva seemed torn between confusion and amusement. "Really? What's that?"

"Transfiguration."

"Oh, well, yes, maybe…"

* * *

><p>He had only just opened the book and was looking for the right page when arms wrapped around him from behind and someone placed a kiss in his neck. Albus smiled. "You do realize that you were the one who suggested that we should look this up?"<p>

"Yes, but I changed my mind. It's so nice outside, let's go and have a walk. Potions can wait."

Albus turned around and enclosed Minerva in his arms. "Are you sick?" he asked, his eyes sparkling playfully.

"Well, we've been studying so much, perhaps something did snap in my brain," she replied in the same playful mood. "So are you coming, or not?" But she didn't really wait for an answer and pulled him out of the library. They left the castle, but they weren't the only ones who had been lured outside by the pleasant summer weather. But they started walking around the lake as always.

"But you do know that we have our first OWL exam scheduled for tomorrow?" Albus asked more seriously now while he intertwined his fingers with Minerva's.

"Of course, I do, but it's Charms. There's nothing left for us to study for that," Minerva replied.

"And you're absolutely sure about that? Sure that you won't start panicking tomorrow morning at breakfast?" Albus asked because he just knew her to well.

"I don't panic," Minerva said indignantly.

Albus' brows furrowed. "So I've just imagined that all those past years?"

"Yes, you probably have," she replied with a grin on her face. "I have everything under control and I always had."

"If you say so." Albus shrugged and decided to be relieved that she wasn't freaking out just yet.

"I do and I do not appreciate your scepticism," Minerva informed him and folded her arms across her chest.

Albus laughed. "I am sorry, love. You know I have the utmost faith in you," he said and kissed her gently.

* * *

><p>"Albus," Minerva whispered. "Albus! Come on, wake up!" She sat down beside him and shook him by the shoulder.<p>

Finally, he opened his eyes. He seemed disoriented at first and when his eyes fell on her, they widened for a second and then closed again.

"No, don't fall asleep again!" Minerva urged him.

Albus' eyes fluttered open again immediately. "Minerva? What… what in the name of Merlin are you doing here?" He sat up and glanced at the other beds in his – boy's – dormitory. It was the middle of the night and thankfully, all the other boys seemed to be still asleep.

"I couldn't sleep and I'm afraid you were right – _again_," Minerva replied.

"Right with what?" Albus asked as quietly as possible.

"That I'm panicking."

Albus sighed. "Now?"

"Well, you said I shouldn't panic tomorrow morning at breakfast so…"

"So you thought you would sneak up into a boy's dormitory instead?" Albus asked incredulously.

"No, actually, I thought I would sneak up to _you,_" Minerva corrected.

"But… you are aware…" Albus struggled to find the right words, "…what it looks like if any of the others wake up?"

Minerva shrugged. "Who cares about them?"

Albus saw now that she had at least gotten dressed before she had come to him. "What time is it?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. About three a.m. I think."

"Alright, go back into the common room. I'll get dressed and then we talk… down there," Albus decided.

Minerva nodded and left. Down in the empty common room she settled in an armchair, but she couldn't sit still for long. She didn't care whether she was acting stupid or not. The OWLs were the most important exams of their life, well at least until the NEWTs came. But if she screwed this up tomorrow, she would never even get the chance to advance to the NEWT level. So how could she not panic? She had absolutely no idea how Albus did it. He was always so calm, but then he could do everything. That probably helped.

He finally came down the stairs and now that she was not in his dormitory anymore, he actually smiled at her. "You're unbelievable, you know that?" He asked and bent down to kiss her.

Instead of answering, Minerva jumped to her feet and indicated that he should sit down in the chair instead so that she could crawl on his lap.

Albus did as he was told and then asked, "Alright, what do you want me to do to calm you down?"

"You're already doing it." Minerva told him and smiled when Albus wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead.

"I bet your OWL results will be even better than mine," he whispered.

Minerva snorted. "No, they won't. But it's sweet of you to say that." She kissed him gently and after they had both been quiet for a few minutes, she asked, "Do you mind if we just sit here for a while?"

"I would sit with you here forever if that was what you wanted," Albus replied and he sounded utterly sincere.

Minerva sighed happily. "I don't deserve you," she muttered, already falling asleep again. "But if you let me oversleep the exam, I will have to curse you."

* * *

><p>Smiling in relief, Minerva watched the canary birds, she had just conjured, fly through the room, chirping happily. It was her practical exam in Transfiguration and so far it had been excellent. Her examiner, Madame Marchbanks, made a few more notes and then smiled at Minerva.<p>

"Thank you, Miss McGonagall. I think that will do."

Minerva nodded and left. And it was then that she realized that she had actually made it. All her OWL exams lay behind her and all in all she was quite pleased with herself. Charms, Defence against the Dark Arts and Care of magical Creatures had all been fine. Astronomy and Herbology had been more difficult, but still Minerva thought she had done well. The day before her Ancient Runes and Arithmancy exams she had experienced another break-down, but Albus had helped her through it, as always.

About Potions, Minerva wasn't quite sure. She had the feeling that she had mixed up some of the ingredients, just as she wasn't sure about some of the dates in her History exam. But Albus had convinced her not to worry about that now that there was nothing she could do about it and after he had told her that he had mixed up a few herbs and plants in Herbology as well, she had felt much better and they had both entered their Transfiguration exam in a good mood.

Now Minerva went back into the Entrance Hall and quickly spotted Albus who was already waiting for her. She smiled and started running towards him. When she had reached Albus, she threw herself into his arms.

"Everything went well then?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes! I even think the canary birds I conjured were more beautiful than ever," Minerva replied enthusiastically.

"I'm sure they were."

"I can't believe it. We actually made it!" Minerva said, still feeling like the relief was talking through her.

"Did you ever really doubt that?" Albus asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Well, that you would pass your OWLs with flying colours was never in question, of course. I heard Madame Marchbanks tell another examiner that you did things with your wand today which she had never seen before!"

"Well, I hadn't seen them before either," Albus said and Minerva had to laugh.

But now that the OWLs were over, the school year was over as well. Minerva wasn't sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, she was looking forward to a little bit of free time after all those exams. But on the other, two months were a long time and she didn't know how often she and Albus would be able to see each other. And she also suddenly started to realize that they had only two more years left in Hogwarts now.

So Minerva left the castle with mixed feelings. Aboard the Hogwarts Express she spent her time sitting in Albus' arms and enjoying his company and when they got off the train at King's Cross, eventually, Minerva's aunt and Albus' relatives were already there.

"This summer you _have_ to write me!" Minerva demanded. "No more excuses!"

"I will. I promise… for real, this time." Albus smiled.

"And you have to come and visit me some time or I'll stop by your place," she suggested.

"Yes, I'm sure we'll manage that."

"And…" Minerva tried to look serious while she made her voice sound all important, "you mustn't forget me!"

Albus pulled her into his arms. "I won't forget you. I will never _ever_ forget you." They shared a passionate kiss and neither one of them wanted to let go.

"I'll miss you," Minerva whispered once their kiss had come to a natural close.

Albus smiled. "Not as much as I will."

Minerva felt too sad to argue with him about that now. "I love you," was everything she could think of.

"I love you more than anything else." Albus caressed her cheek and hugged her one more time. "I'll see you soon – I promise."

Minerva smiled and walked away from him very slowly. When she had finally reached her aunt, she kept looking back at Albus until they had left the platform.

"Uh… but now he's your boyfriend, right?"

Minerva looked at her aunt and smiled. "Yes, he is."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: I hadn't originally planned for Albus and Minerva to get together in the fifth year, but they insisted, so there was nothing I could do about it ;) Hope you liked it and thanks a lot to minervathefeline, pennypotter128, posiden'sdaughter, Serendipity Forever, eternal vampire, Erin Magnus-Druitt and SylvaDragon for the lovely reviews and birthday wishes!<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

July was almost over, but the weather was still perfect. It was so warm outside that it would have been unpleasant to stay out in the sun for too long if it hadn't been for the slight summer breeze that was caressing Minerva's face. The sky above her was of a light blue with no clouds in sight, and all the plants and animals seemed to be full of life and energy.

If there was one thing Minerva really liked about her aunt's house, it was the huge garden. Out here she felt like she finally had enough room for herself and could enjoy the silence and the beauty of the trees and flowers surrounding her. Alright, she had to admit that she probably wouldn't have cared so much about the beautiful flowers if she hadn't been so ridiculously happy.

But she was and the mere thought caused her to smile again. She was smiling a lot this summer. She only needed to think of Albus and her lips moved on their own. And so they did now while Minerva was standing in the middle of the garden, contemplating her happiness.

If she wasn't busy doing that, she spent most of her time sitting on a blanket out here, reading books or answering Albus' letters. This time he had actually kept his promise, and it also seemed that he was trying to make up for the last two years because he had sent her so many letter so far that Minerva's aunt didn't even bother to look up anymore when they heard an owl approaching. The letters were addressed to Minerva, anyway.

Minerva was torn between feeling slightly embarrassed (Albus did go a little overboard with this) and accepting it as the cutest thing anyone had ever done for her – especially since his letters were the most beautiful ones she had ever read – not that this surprised her at this point. Still, she knew that it hadn't been Albus' fault that he hadn't been able to write to her before and that was why Minerva was going to tell him to stop.

She still shivered inside when she thought about Albus' horrible past, but she always tried to tell herself that it was over now and that he would never have to endure anything like that ever again. She would personally make sure of that. They had both lost their parents, but they did have each other and nothing would change that if Minerva had anything to say about it.

She only whished he would be with her now. Minerva sighed and thought about what she should do now. Her OWL results had arrived yesterday, so she knew which subjects she would continue next year and could start preparing for that. But she still had a whole month before school would start and to begin studying now seemed exaggerated, even to her.

Suddenly, familiar arms wrapped around her waist from behind and she was kissed on the cheek. Immediately, Minerva felt warmth inside her that had nothing to do with the weather. She turned around as fast as she could.

"Albus! What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me…?"

"Well, I thought it would be my turn to make an unannounced house call," Albus' replied, his eyes twinkling, and he bent down to kiss her on the lips this time. It was a very long and loving kiss, which expressed how much they had missed each other. "So, good or bad surprise?"

"What do you think?" Minerva said, rolling her eyes, but the smile on her face ruined the effect. "I just happened to think about you."

Albus smiled in return and then tore his eyes away from her for a second to take in his surroundings. "Your aunt has a very nice garden."

"Yes, and the best part about it is that she usually leaves me alone out here," Minerva said even though she knew that she was a bit harsh on her aunt who was really trying to be supportive and had given her all the time she needed to get used to her parents' absence. But she didn't care much about that now. "I'll get us a blanket so we can sit down."

But she had barely finished that sentence when Albus had already conjured one up. "Show-off," Minerva said, shaking her head, but smiled when they sat down. "Speaking of which… did you get your OWL results, too?"

Albus nodded. "Yesterday. How did you do?"

"I did alright – except for Potions, of course. But I knew all along that I screwed up the whole poisons and antidotes business," she told him, shrugging it off.

"Yes, I suffered a similar fate in Herbology," Albus nodded.

Minerva narrowed her eyes at him. "Really?" She remembered him telling her that he had a bad feeling about his Herbology exam, but at the time, she had thought that he had said that only to cheer her up.

"That you screwed it up means that you got an E, right?" Albus countered with a question of his own, which Minerva confirmed with a nod. "In that case, yes, me too, and there's no reason for you to look so sceptical. You know I have no patience for dealing with plants."

Minerva chuckled. "Yes, but I thought you felt that you had to say that you were bad at _something_ because I was totally freaking out at the time."

"Well, I will admit that I would have said anything to calm you down, but it also happened to be true." Albus smiled and pulled her into his arms. "And when you say that you did alright with the rest, you mean that it's all Outstandings?" he then asked and Minerva nodded.

But when she heard him laugh, she pushed away a little so that she could turn around and look at him. "What's there to laugh about?"

"You are the only person I know who would refer to nine Outstanding OWLs and one Exceeds Expectations as 'I did alright'," Albus explained with a smile on his face.

"Well, it could have been ten Outstandings," Minerva replied, but then quickly kissed him because she didn't want to argue about whether her E OWL in Potions should bother her or not.

They kept their lips busy with something else but talking for a while and then Minerva nestled down in Albus' arms again. "Don't you want to ask me how my results turned out?" Albus asked her.

"Why would I? I already know. All Outstandings except for an alleged E in Herbology."

"An alleged E?" Albus repeated, pretending to be offended. "Do I have to show you the letter to make you believe me?"

Minerva chuckled. "Alright, alright, you have an E in Herbology. What about Transfiguration? Did you get an O plus or something?"

"You know something like that does not exist."

"It didn't so far, but they might have been forced to invent it for you," she said jokingly.

But Albus sounded a little exasperated. "You will never stop making me better than I am, will you? You're as good in Transfiguration as I am."

"And you will never stop flattering me," Minerva shot back.

They looked at each other, eyes twinkling, and Albus nudged her softly whereupon Minerva threw herself onto him and they lay down and started rolling across the blanket, their lips finding their way towards each other instinctively. Then somebody cleared their throat somewhere above them.

Reluctantly, Minerva looked up at her aunt while Albus quickly pushed away from her and sat up.

"What do you want?" Minerva asked and didn't even try to mask her irritation.

"I just thought you might like something to drink," her aunt replied pleasantly.

"Thanks," Minerva said, but she was sure her annoyance was written all over her face when she stood up to take the tray with the drinks. Her aunt pretended not to notice.

After she had left, Minerva put down the tray and sat down next to Albus again. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Sorry for what? Your aunt is just doing what guardians are supposed to do – keeping an eye on you," Albus replied good-naturedly as always.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "I don't need anyone to look after me anymore. I'm turning seventeen this year and it's about time." And she deliberately moved closer to him again.

Albus gently caressed a strand of hair out of her face. "Have I told you yet how beautiful you look today?" he asked, knowing very well that this would make her smile again. Then he kissed her, but pulled back after a few seconds and said: "I have the distinct impression that if I were to kiss you a little while longer, your aunt would be back rather quickly, offering us something to eat."

Although she wasn't amused in the slightest by her aunt's behaviour, Minerva had to smile. She leaned against Albus' chest and while he kept caressing her hair and face, she closed her eyes and enjoyed his touch. She knew she could stay like this forever.

But then she remembered something and looked up at Albus. "Uh, you know there's something I've been thinking about for the last couple of weeks." He just looked at her questioningly. "You said that what I like and probably do best is Transfiguration and I quite agree. We're best of our year, perhaps even the best students Hogwarts has seen in a while, so I thought… perhaps we could use a bigger challenge – that is to say, _the_ biggest challenge. What do you think about becoming Animagi?"

Albus stopped caressing her and when Minerva craned her neck to see his face, he looked pretty shocked. "How did you come up with that idea?" he asked

"I don't know. I had nothing to do while I was waiting for my OWL results and I did some reading… and it just struck me, I guess. But I would really like to do that – or at least try it. The idea to attempt something that big and perhaps even excel at it… it tempts me like nothing else," she tried to explain and heard the excitement in her own voice.

"Don't you think that our sixth year in Hogwarts is already enough of a challenge?" Albus asked, his tone guarded.

Minerva shook her head. "No, not really. We don't even have exams."

"We do have exams," Albus corrected her.

"Yes, but end-of-term exams are nothing compared to our OWLs." Albus just looked at her in disbelief. "Alright, I know our sixth year is going to be hard, too, because it will be all about preparing for our NEWTs. But I think we can handle it."

"Really? But you do know that there's a reason why becoming an Animagus is the highest ambition you could possibly achieve when it comes to Transfiguration? It is more difficult than anything we learned so far. Plus, I don't think that the Ministry would allow under aged wizards to even try it."

"But we're turning seventeen very soon," Minerva reminded him.

"Still, I'm sure they will say that students should concentrate on their graduation first, which is quite true," Albus said, still cautious.

Minerva just shrugged. "Then we would do it without help from the Ministry. You don't like them anyway."

"But how were we supposed to do it without any kind of instructions? Never mind that it would be highly illegal."

Minerva decided to ignore that last comment for now. "I'm sure that you would find something in one of your books. Don't tell me that you don't know _anything_ about it because I know you do!" She looked at him with that don't-you-dare-lie-to-me expression on her face and kept her fingers crossed.

Albus sighed. "I happen to know that a rather common method, if there even is such a thing, includes the use of a so-called Ingenius weed, which supposedly helps to disconnect the mind from the body and induces hallucinations and, I am sure, is almost impossible to find."

"Well, that's a start, isn't it?" Minerva said, thrilled that he had already read about the matter. "I'm sure you could read up more on it if you wanted to."

Albus shook his head. "Don't you care about how highly illegal that would be? And it is highly restricted for a reason. To transform yourself is not only difficult, it is extremely dangerous! Do you know what could happen if we tried it on our own?"

"No risk, no gain." Minerva shrugged with a sheepish grin on her face. "But doesn't it fascinate you, at all? Don't you want to cross the line, just once – do something crazy?" Minerva's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"What has happened to you?" Albus asked, sounding half-joking and half-serious.

"Maybe you're driving me crazy," Minerva replied playfully and pushed him back so that she could lie down on top of him and kiss him.

"Minerva, darling…" her aunt's voice floated towards them.

Minerva closed her eyes in exasperation, but Albus just smiled and gently helped them both to sit up again. Minerva looked at him and knew that she didn't want to let go of him so quickly. "Can you stay overnight?" she heard herself asking.

Albus looked surprised, but he smiled when he said, "I'm not sure whether your aunt would particularly like that idea, but I would, very much so."

"Great, I'll go and talk to her." Minerva got up and walked back into the house where her aunt was already waiting for her.

"Ah, would you like something to eat, dear?" Marcia asked her.

Minerva couldn't help but smile a little, thinking of Albus' words earlier. "Yes, thanks. Uh… Marcia, is it okay with you if Albus stays until tomorrow?"

Her aunt hesitated for a second, but Minerva was quite sure that she wouldn't dare to say no because their relationship was pretty strained as it was and Marcia tried everything to ease that tension.

And she indeed nodded. "Yes, that's fine by me. I will prepare the guestroom for him."

Her aunt threw her a pointed look and Minerva barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She wanted Albus to sleep in her room, especially since they couldn't spend the night in Hogwarts, and she thought that she should have the right to make that decision since she was about to come of age – at least as far as the law was concerned (Minerva had felt like an adult ever since her parents had died). Still, Minerva knew better than to argue with her aunt about this, especially after her very obvious concern about physical closeness between her and Albus.

So all Minerva said was: "Thanks, Marcia." Then she turned around and went back into the garden. "It's okay," she said to Albus. "You can stay and you can use that time to think about my idea a bit more!"

* * *

><p>And so he did. They spent a wonderful day together and after lying in the garden for about an hour looking at the stars, they finally went to bed. Now, Albus lay in the guestroom and thought about Minerva's idea of becoming Animagi, which she hadn't brought up again, probably to give him time to think.<p>

Albus knew that, although she didn't show it and made jokes about it instead, Minerva was sometimes taken aback by his magical abilities. It was probably for that reason, combined with her own personal ambition, that she had decided to explore her full potential and try to achieve the highest ambition in the area she felt most comfortable with: Transfiguration.

Albus had seen the passion in her eyes and he knew best what an enormously talented and ambitious young witch she was. And he couldn't say that he wasn't fascinated by the idea. A part of him that wanted to explore everything and push the boundaries of magic itself was ready to agree to her idea at once. But a bigger part kept warning him that he had to be the voice of reason on this one.

Perhaps he hadn't told Minerva everything he knew because he hadn't wanted to encourage her further. But he wasn't sure what would happen if they got caught doing this and he didn't want to risk being expelled from Hogwarts. And what was even more important, he didn't want to put Minerva at risk. He knew how highly dangerous this was. Albus didn't even dare to picture all the horrible things that could happen if one tried to transform oneself. And he just couldn't agree to something that would put Minerva in danger.

However, he also didn't know how to say 'no' to her. By Merlin, he knew how much he loved her. When he had finally seen her again after this whole month of being apart, his feelings had been so intense that he had barely been able to control himself. And each time Albus held her in his arms, saw her beautiful smile and that fiery sparkle in her emerald eyes, he felt that he would do anything for her…

"Albus?"

He looked up in surprise and saw Minerva standing on the threshold to his room.

"Do you think that's wise? What about your aunt?" he whispered.

Minerva shrugged and closed the door behind her. "I'm not going to tell her. Never mind that this is none of her business, anyway," she said with all her usual stubbornness and tiptoed towards his bed. "Besides, all I want is to be with you because… I've missed you."

Albus wanted to remind himself that Minerva's aunt would get angry if she found out about this and that she might not allow them to see each other again until school started. But he couldn't. When he looked at Minerva, who stood next to his bed now, all he could do was reach for her hand and pull her into his arms. She lay down beside him and they both knew that they just longed to hold each other. When her legs entangled with his, her head rested on his chest and his hands felt her soft skin under his fingertips, Albus closed his eyes.

And he had never felt more comfortable and just right.

* * *

><p>Marcia McGonagall knew that it was suspiciously quiet in the house this morning. Her niece didn't usually get up late. But Marcia also thought that she knew why this was the case today. Perhaps she shouldn't have done it, but she couldn't resist and opened the door to Minerva's room. It was empty. Somehow, that didn't really surprise her.<p>

She had never had children of her own. But Marcia still remembered her youth and that children preferred to do what was forbidden to them. Although, she thought, Minerva was no child anymore and it was time for her to accept that. In a way, Minerva had been more of a grown-up than a child since her parent's death and that was exactly what made their relationship so difficult.

Marcia knew that Minerva thought that she was more than ready to live on her own and would probably prefer that. Well, Marcia sighed, very soon she would be able to make that decision. It wouldn't make much of a difference, anyway, since Minerva stayed with her during the summer holidays only. Last year she hadn't even returned for Christmas. Marcia had convinced herself not to take it personally.

Minerva was young and had wanted to spend Christmas with her boyfriend and Marcia had to admit that she could understand that. But Marcia had loved her brother and she loved his two beautiful daughters and would always be willing to take care of them if they needed it. Besides, she was a McGonagall, too. She could be just as stubborn.

With a wry smile, she approached the door of the guestroom. She wasn't at all sure whether she would like what she'd see, but opened it nevertheless. But to her surprise, Marcia had to smile. Minerva and Albus just looked very sweet together while they were lying innocently in each others arms. Marcia remembered her own first real love and still smiling, she closed the door carefully.

* * *

><p>A familiar rustling noise above their heads announced the arrival of the morning mail. Hundreds of owls swept into the Great Hall and one of them dropped a small package, which missed Minerva's pumpkin juice by only a few inches.<p>

"She's getting better at this every year," Minerva laughed and surrendered the rest of her toast to her family owl who hooted softly before taking off again.

Albus smiled and watched while Minerva opened her birthday package. The day of her seventeenth birthday had finally arrived. Minerva had been waiting for it for what seemed like a very long time. Now that she was officially entitled to make her own decisions, she was in such a good mood that she smiled while reading the letter from her aunt, which contained all the usual sentimental stuff she could have predicted. Strangely, now that Minerva was free to decide how much time she wanted to spend with her aunt, she found Marcia's love for her quite touching.

But when Minerva read the last couple of lines, she was immediately pulled from her reverie: _"The second letter you'll find in the package is from your parents. They wrote it some time ago and I know that they had intended to send it to you on your seventeenth birthday. Since I'm sure that they would still want you to have it and that you would like to read it, I'm sending it to you in their stead." _

Minerva's hands were suddenly shaking quite a bit when she reached for the second letter and recognized her name on the envelope – written in her mother's handwriting.

"Is everything alright?" Albus asked, always so sensitive to even the subtlest mood swings (although Minerva had to admit that her mood swings usually were anything but subtle).

She let the letter slip into her pocket and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

She didn't want to read the letter from her parents here in the Great Hall in the midst of all the noise and while Albus' concerned eyes were watching her. For a second, Minerva wondered whether she wanted to read the letter, at all. But then she shook her head. She _had_ to read it, even though she was afraid of what it would say. And that was exactly why she wanted to be alone first.

When breakfast was over, she and Albus set off to their first lesson, which was Defence against the Dark Arts. They had been practicing nonverbal spells since the beginning of this term, and usually they both enjoyed these lessons very much because they were often asked to work in pairs.

Albus had needed virtually no time at all to manage the nonverbal spells, of course, and was now improving his skills rapidly. But Minerva wasn't far behind him and so they enjoyed duelling with each other, always hoping to surprise the other and break through their defences. But today, Minerva was so lost in thoughts that she barely put up any kind of defence at all.

"Are you sure that you're alright, Min?" Albus suddenly asked her.

Minerva looked up. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

Albus raised an eyebrow. "Because I just disarmed you three times in a row without the slightest effort."

"Oh," was all Minerva said while Albus pointed at her wand, which had indeed flown out of her hand and across the room. Since they were practicing nonverbal spells not only in Defence, but in almost every other subject as well, Albus summoned her wand without even moving his lips.

"What's wrong?" he asked while he handed it back to her, the concern plain on his face.

"It's nothing, really. I was just distracted – contemplating my new freedom and everything." Minerva could tell that Albus wasn't convinced, but since Professor Merrythought started walking around the classroom to check how they were doing, he didn't push the matter.

The school day passed in a similar fashion and Minerva was beyond grateful when they could finally return to the common room.

"So, what do you want to do now, my beautiful birthday girl?" Albus asked her and pulled her close to give her a kiss.

"Actually, there's something I have to do by myself first," Minerva replied, feeling so guilty for pushing him away, however, that she barely got the words out.

Albus did look surprised, of course, but to her relief he didn't show it if he was hurt by her request. He merely nodded. "I'll be down here."

Minerva hurried up the stairs to her dormitory and sat down on her four-poster bed. Then she pulled out the letter and stared at the envelope for several minutes, scared of how it would make her feel if she read it. After a few more minutes, though, she shook her head. This was ridiculous, she thought and opened the letter. When Minerva saw the still familiar handwriting, she closed her eyes for a second and willed herself not to cry again.

Then she started reading.

"_Dear Minerva,_

_It __feels as if it was only yesterday that you still were our little, ever so curious girl. You started asking questions about everything around you as soon as you were able to speak and you always said exactly what was on your mind. That got us into some trouble, mind you. But nevertheless, we were so very proud of our brave and smart little girl. _

_Now that you read this letter__, you have grown up into a young lady, but we are still just as proud of you and we love you with all our hearts. No matter which path you will choose for your future, we have the utmost faith in you and we will always be there to guide you if you need us. We're really sorry that we can't be with you today because you're in Hogwarts. But when you come home for Christmas, we will have a big surprise waiting for you. _

_We're looking forward to hugging you as our now adult daughter and until then, hope you enjoy your time in Hogwarts and continue to make us proud. We love you very much."_

Minerva put the letter down and tried to stop her hands from shaking. _When you come home for Christmas… _She would never be able to return to them, she would never know what kind of a surprise they had planned for her and they would never ever hug her again. Even though tears began to sting her eyes when she realized all this, Minerva read the letter again and again until she stuffed it under her pillow in anger, only to pull it out again a few seconds later.

It had been almost two years and Minerva had learned to accept her parent's death and go on with her life. But now she had a really hard time to stop the pain from coming back to haunt her again. Minerva thought of Albus. He was certainly waiting for her downstairs. But she couldn't bring herself to stand up and go down into the common room. She just sat there and stared at the letter, which was so full of happiness and promises her parents had never been able to keep.

Minerva sighed when she realized the irony of the situation. She had waited for this day for quite a long time and now where was the good in it, really? So she could tell everyone that she was of age now and that her aunt wasn't her guardian anymore… but suddenly that made Minerva feel rather lonely.

Finally, it was time for dinner and her dormitory emptied. Minerva sat on her bed for a few more minutes, but then she forced herself to move, eventually. The common room was almost completely empty because everybody had gone down into the Great Hall.

But Albus sat in an armchair near the fireplace and looked up when he heard Minerva coming down the stairs. When their eyes met, he just opened his arms and Minerva hurried towards him and climbed onto his lap.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked her immediately. "I thought you were happy about finally turning seventeen."

"I was," Minerva nodded, "and I still am, I think. It's just… I don't know… In the package this morning was a letter from my parents, which they had written before they died. They… had still so many plans for us… surprises for Christmas and summer holidays…"

"Ah," Albus said, understanding finally dawning on his face.

"But it's okay. We don't have to talk about it. It just made me remember how much I miss them." Minerva rested her head on Albus' shoulder.

He gently stroked her hair and Minerva knew he was thinking of something to cheer her up again because neither one of them had wanted her birthday to end like this. "You know," he finally said, "I have thought about your… idea to become Animagi and I guess we could… give it a try."

Minerva lifted her head. "Really? You do?" she asked and suddenly didn't care whether he had said this only to cheer her up because… it worked.

Albus smiled when he saw that, too. "I still think it's dangerous, but I trust us to… proceed with caution."

"Oh, but that's great! When do you want to start?" Minerva knew that she was perhaps a bit overenthusiastic, but this was exactly what she needed to stop feeling sad about her parents.

"Woah, wait a minute, love. Did you forget that we have to figure out how to get Ingenius weed before we can actually start with anything?"

"Uh… well, I kind of already have some," Minerva replied, biting her lip to stop herself from grinning.

Albus looked at her in surprise. "How? It's supposed to be extremely rare."

"I bought it when I went to Diagon Alley to get new books and robes and stuff," Minerva said.

"I'm quite sure that you can't get Ingenius weed in Diagon Alley. There's no shop that would sell it and certainly not to under aged wizards or witches, I think."

Minerva hesitated. "Well, it was not _exactly_ Diagon Alley. I might have taken a turn into a side road at some point."

"Which side road?" Albus asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Knockturn Alley."

Albus jumped to his feet and thereby pulled Minerva up with him. "You did what? Knockturn Alley? I don't believe this. You can't just go there all by yourself – especially considering what's going on in Europe right now! You… especially you should know better than that. It's…"

"Alright, you made your point!" Minerva yelled to make him stop.

Albus blinked and seemed surprised at his own outburst. It was usually Minerva who got upset about things. "I'm sorry," he said, sitting down and pulling her into his arms again. "I was just… surprised."

"No, you were shocked that you weren't there to stop me from doing something 'stupid'," Minerva corrected with a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice. She didn't need anyone to give her a lecture about what she could and couldn't do, not even Albus.

"Only because I love you so much," Albus replied and kissed her, however, erasing all of her anger. "Alright, so you entered Knockturn Alley and actually found someone who sold you Ingenius weed?" he then asked.

Minerva nodded. "Actually, it wasn't all that difficult. I just had to find the right shop and then I acted like I was some stuck-up, pure-blood witch whose family thinks they should rule the entire wizarding world because they have so much money and that was it. I think the shop assistant was a bit hesitant at first because I looked so young, but in the end he only cared about how many Galleons I had."

Albus shook his head in disbelief, but a smile played around his lips. "And you obviously already expected me to say yes eventually?"

Minerva tried to suppress a grin. "Well, I hoped that you would and so you did…" She gave him a short kiss as an apology for hiding this from him.

Albus just smiled. He didn't seem very surprised about that part. "Alright, now that we actually have Ingenius weed, I guess we will need a room. That could also turn out to be quite difficult because it has to be somewhere where we won't be interrupted."

"I think I know where we can look one up tomorrow," Minerva said.

"Tomorrow?" Albus asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, what did you think?"

Albus shrugged. "I thought you might suggest that we should go looking for a room right now. We're still allowed outside the common rooms for about two more hours, after all."

"Yes, but now that you've said yes, I think I can wait until tomorrow. I'd prefer to spend the rest of my birthday here with you." Minerva smiled at him.

"Good to know that I'm still more important to you than our new project," Albus joked.

"Always," Minerva whispered and wondered how she could have felt lonely just a few minutes ago. Thanks to Albus, she would never be alone.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: As always, thanks for the reviews! I hope you still like the story now that Albus and Minerva are together ;) In any case, let me know and don't worry, I'll start on the Animagus stuff real soon.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Right, I know I promised to update soon. But I was on holiday, so I actually couldn't update. But I had lots of time to write, which is why you get two chapters today. Hope you enjoy (and let me know if you do ;)

* * *

><p>"Here, this is it." Minerva dropped a very big and very old looking book on their favourite table in the library.<p>

Albus eyed the book in disbelief. "What in the name of Merlin is that?"

"That's _Hogwarts, A History_," Minerva explained and sat down next to him.

"Uh… I have that book, but mine looks… thinner," Albus said, frowning.

"Yes, that's because this," Minerva opened the book and a huge cloud of dust emerged from it, "is the original edition, I think. Don't ask me how old it is – I only found it by chance. I'm not even sure it's supposed to be here. But…" She skipped to somewhere in the middle of the book and it revealed the most detailed map of Hogwarts Albus had ever seen, "… if there's a room in this castle we could use, it's in here."

Albus studied the map, astonishment and curiosity probably plain on his face. He hadn't thought that such a detailed map of this magical castle was even possible. "Who made this?" he wondered.

"Who knows?" Minerva shrugged. "But I thought we could find a room in one of the towers. They are probably less crowded than the rest of the castle."

"Well, here's our common room," Albus pointed at the Gryffindor tower. "And there are always students running around there."

"And somewhere around here are the Ravenclaws," Minerva added, pointing at a staircase around which she always saw groups of Ravenclaws disappear.

Albus nodded. "This is the Astronomy tower. What about the North Tower?"

At first, Minerva looked just as clueless, but then she seemed to remember something. "Wait a minute. I think that's where the Divination classroom is located."

Albus raised an eyebrow. "And you know that because…?" he asked. He still vividly remembered the lecture Minerva had given him about how useless this subject was, only because he had dared to mention that it was on the list of subjects they could choose for their third year.

"I heard Patricia talk about it," Minerva explained, a slightly indignant look on her face. "Apparently, the _Professor _died shortly before term started and _unfortunately, _they haven't found a replacement, yet. I guess Professor Dippet isn't too fond of the subject either, at least he has cancelled all lessons for now."

"Which means that the tower should be almost deserted," Albus concluded.

"Yes, we can certainly go and see if we find a room we could use. As a precaution, we should always lock the door, anyway."

Albus nodded thoughtfully. "But we will have to go there pretty often. What if someone gets curious as to what exactly we're up to?"

"If we go there directly after class, there is so much chaos in the corridors that no one will notice. Then we'll have time until dinner and after that we'll return into the common room to do our homework," Minerva suggested.

"Sounds like a pretty full schedule," Albus mused.

Minerva gave him a sweet smile. "Well, nobody said it would be easy."

* * *

><p>This had to be the highest point of the entire castle. Albus was sure of it. At least, it certainly felt as if no other tower had more staircases that needed to be climbed than the North Tower. Another good reason not to study the 'art' of Divination.<p>

"Well, you've got to see the positive side," Minerva suggested when they had finally reached the top. "It's very unlikely that anyone climbs up here without a very good reason."

"You mean like searching for a room to do something highly illegal and equally dangerous?" Albus asked with a smile. Minerva just rolled her eyes and they both started to look around.

Directly above their heads was a circular trap door with a brass plaque on it. "_Foresee the unforeseen,_" Minerva read out loud. "Why, that _has_ to be the Divination classroom."

Albus nodded. "So, shall we go up there?"

"Well, I certainly won't have climbed all those stairs for nothing," Minerva decided and he had expected nothing less of her.

So, Albus reached for his wand and pointed it at the trap door. _Alohomora!_ he thought and the trap door actually opened and a silvery ladder descended right at their feet.

They looked at each other. "A bit creepy, isn't it?" Minerva asked and looked up at the trap door. "I just hope there really is no one up there."

"Who would be up there – except for the ghost of the dead teacher, perhaps?" Albus smiled, but Minerva grimaced at the thought. "Well, we'll find out soon enough, I think. After me, if you don't mind, Min," Albus said and climbed the ladder first.

He emerged in the strangest looking _classroom _he had ever seen. In fact, it didn't look like a classroom, at all. At least twenty small, circular tables were crammed inside it, all surrounded by armchairs and fat little pouffes. The shelves running around the walls were crammed with dusty-looking stuff, which to Albus didn't look useful at all. The curtains at the windows were all closed and there was a strange smell in the air.

"What in the name of Merlin is that?" Minerva asked, having climbed the ladder herself now.

"A Divination classroom, I suppose."

"Well, no one is going to look for us here." Minerva shrugged and pointed her wand at the trap door. Albus felt a bit uncomfortable while he watched how the ladder ascended and the door closed again.

"I just hope we'll get out of here again," he muttered under his breath.

Minerva smiled and slumped into an armchair. "Well, whatever you say about Divination – these armchairs are very comfortable."

Albus smiled and walked towards her. "Are you sure that you really want to use the Divination classroom?"

"Why not? Classes are cancelled for this year, so why would anyone bother coming up here?" Minerva asked.

"One of the teachers might – to make sure that no students use the room as their secret hide out," Albus suggested.

"In that – very unlikely – case we could say that… we're writing an essay about rather stupid branches of magic and were doing some research… for which we needed a crystal ball." Minerva picked one up and showed it to him.

Albus raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly would we need the crystal ball for?"

"To prove that this is all nonsense – predicting the future, you know." Minerva looked into the ball and a grin spread across her face. "I think I _see_ that you'll transform into a… frog."

"How very nice of you, honey."

"Hey, don't blame me, blame the crystal ball." Minerva's eye twinkled. "Oh, wait, now it looks more like a… fox."

Albus took the ball out of her hand. "Yes, a frog and a fox can be easily mixed up. I think I know why you haven't taken this subject." He put the ball down and it rolled off into a dark corner of the room. "I think we should start now."

Minerva nodded. They settled into two armchairs which surrounded one of the circular tables and placed the Ingenius weed between them. "I'm not sure it's wise that we both do it at the same time. We'll probably have hallucinations or be affected in other unexpected, but probably unpleasant ways," Albus reminded her.

But Minerva merely shrugged. "The door's locked and if we smash some of this junk around here, I'm sure it won't be a great loss." She smiled at him, but he could see that besides anticipation, there was also anxiety in her eyes.

Albus reached for her hand and squeezed it encouragingly before he pulled out his wand and thought _Inflammate!_ The Ingenius weed burst into flames, which were red at first but began changing their colour soon. While Albus watched the flames, he couldn't help wondering whether this really was a good idea.

Minerva was right; they were alone. But they would also be on their own if something happened. This weed was only supposed to help them into some kind of meditative state. But being robbed of the ability to think clearly and start hallucinating instead was not exactly something Albus was looking forward to. He had no idea how it would affect Minerva and him and what they might do.

Albus sighed. If he kept focusing on all these negative thoughts, his mind would never be able to relax and all of this would really end badly. He had to trust that Minerva could handle it. She was strong. They both were. He had to let go and soon, because now there was an even worse smell in the air than before, which seemed to make it impossible for him to breathe. Immediately, Albus started worrying that Minerva might suffocate, but that only increased the pressure on his own lungs and his head felt like it might explode any second now.

He had to accept that he had no control over this or he would die. He just had to let go…

Suddenly, Albus wasn't sure where he was anymore. The weird classroom vanished around him. He felt cold rock under his paws (somehow it didn't surprise him that he had paws) and when he raised his enormous golden head, he saw a land so vast that it stretched towards the horizon and beyond. Albus tried to take a step forward and a deep rumbling emerged from this throat when he suddenly stepped into cold water. He looked down and met his own sparkling ice-blue eyes in the face of a gorgeous, golden lion…

Suddenly somebody screamed. But everything in his head was still so foggy that he couldn't locate where it had come from. But when something ripped him of his feet all of a sudden and he fell backwards, Albus was abruptly back in the odd Divination classroom. He lay on the ground and Minerva was right on top of him. They both blinked and it took them a moment to realize that Minerva must have jumped at Albus and that this had caused the armchair to keel over.

"What are you? A panther?" Albus asked when they had gotten up again.

Minerva smiled. "Close. But it's a tabby cat, I think."

"You think?"

"Well, it was really strange and slightly scary. At first, I thought we would suffocate. Then I thought we would burn up because the flames were everywhere. But just when I had decided that I wouldn't die not knowing what my Animagus form would have been, I saw this Tabby. It jumped right into my face and I thought I should better get out of the way," Minerva explained.

"So, a Tabby?" Albus said thoughtfully. "Cute."

Minerva sat down on his lap and kissed him. "Were you able to see your animal before I… interrupted?"

"Yes, well, I saw my reflection in the water."

"Your reflection? Then you've already been in your Animagus form in your vision?" Minerva asked, her eyes wide open.

Albus nodded. "I assume everybody will experience his own unique vision."

"Maybe, but what did you transform into?"

"… a lion."

Minerva's jaw dropped and she stood up again. "A lion? Are you kidding me?" Albus looked into her astonished eyes and shook his head. Minerva folded her arms across her chest and smiled. "I knew it!"

"Excuse me, didn't you just tell me that I would transform into a frog?" Albus asked, although he was afraid that he already knew what she was talking about.

"You know I was just messing around. But a lion! That's the symbol for Gryffindor house. It's the symbol for Godric Gryffindor!" Minerva was still smiling and looked pretty pleased with herself.

"You won't start with your grand-grand-grand-and so on-son theory again, will you?"

"I know you're convinced that you're not. But how would you really know that? Surely, you don't have a family tree that goes that far back. But even if you had, I wouldn't care. I've seen more than enough evidence by now. I know you're destined for something great."

Albus shook his head. "Are you going to make me another prediction?" Minerva laughed. "Besides, your Animagus is also a cat."

"Yes, but it's a little cat, not a lion. That's a huge difference. But I admit there is a connection." Minerva climbed onto his lap again and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Your paws will be bigger than mine, but it still proves that we are a very good match." Her eyes twinkled and when she kissed him, Albus pulled her even closer and prolonged the kiss because at the moment he preferred kissing her to hearing her talk about all this stuff that made his head spin.

When he finally had to let go of her lips because they were running out of air, Minerva just smiled and rested her forehead against his.

They were silent for a while – both amazed that they had taken the first step towards becoming Animagi and lived to tell the tale. And Albus couldn't help thinking about the reasons for his Animagus form to be a lion. Actually, he wasn't quite sure what to think. Obviously, it meant that a lion was the animal that fitted him best. But he would have never expected that. And it didn't connect him to Godric Gryffindor – not necessarily. After all, Minerva had mostly only joked about it, too.

"You weren't serious, were you?" he now asked her. "With what you said about me being destined for something 'great'?"

"Of course I was serious," Minerva replied however. "Perhaps that sounded a bit… exaggerated. But the point is I know you and I know what you can do and although you refuse to accept that, I think there has been no greater wizard than you are or certainly will be for a long time. Perhaps I should add that I love you, but in this case it doesn't influence my assessment of your magical abilities. But because I love you, I know that you're too modest to agree with anything I just said."

"Oh, I'll gladly agree to the you loving me part," Albus said, eyes twinkling.

Minerva smiled. "That's fine by me."

Albus kissed her, but it was just a short kiss this time. "And if you're really thinking about me like that, it doesn't… bother you? I mean like it did in our first year?" he asked, remembering how they had gotten off to a rocky start. He knew that had been five years ago, but he didn't want anything to separate him and Minerva ever again.

Minerva seemed to know exactly what he was thinking because she sounded deadly serious when she said: "No, it doesn't. I got over that a long time ago. Now I'm mostly proud of you. I mean how many girls have a boyfriend like that?" She smiled and the seriousness was gone again. "Besides, as long as I still beat you at every game of chess we play, I'm good."

Albus smiled and caressed her cheek. "I love you, Min."

They kissed for a long time after that, but when they broke apart again, Minerva said: "But you better not be one of those real big lions or we will really leave this room in ruins. And you won't fit into these great armchairs anymore."

Albus couldn't help but laugh at that.

* * *

><p>Christmas had once again arrived at Hogwarts. But even though the teachers did their best to decorate every inch of the castle, as soon as it was all covered in snow, most of the students left for home.<p>

"You know, I think I'm beginning to love Christmas again," Minerva said when they sat in an armchair near the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room.

Albus smiled. "Really?"

"Yes, we have the whole common room for ourselves – well, except for a few seventh-years. But they're in the library all the time studying for their NEWTs."

"As we probably will be next year," Albus reminded her.

Minerva nodded. "But not yet." She smiled and kissed him. "And since there are hardly any students left in the castle, we don't have to be careful on our way to the Divination tower, either."

They had gone up there regularly ever since they had both had their first vision of their future Animagus forms. But since then nothing even remotely exciting had happened again. In fact, it was rather dull and frustrating to try and free your mind so that you might disconnect it from your human body and be able to transform. But neither one of them thought about giving up. They had known all along it would be a very long process.

"But although it's not time just yet, I can't believe that our final year is approaching," Albus said thoughtfully.

Minerva nodded. "I know what you mean. It's a little scary."

"Especially since we'll finally have to decide what we want to do after Hogwarts." Albus mused.

"Well, I'm still not sure." Minerva rested her head on Albus' shoulder. "Are you?"

He gently stroked her hair. "I know that I'm going to be wherever you are and that's all I really need to know."

Minerva lifted her head and looked at Albus. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and she gave him a tender kiss. "What time is it?" she whispered.

"One more hour till Christmas Day, I think," Albus replied and glanced at his watch, which indeed confirmed that it was eleven p.m.

Minerva stood up and reached for Albus' hand. "What do you think? Time to go to bed?"

Albus looked into her emerald eyes to make sure he had understood her question correctly. Minerva's eyes were as beautiful as ever and they were full of that love for him that still amazed him every day. But there was something else now – something that made Albus shiver inside and get to his feet immediately.

Minerva pulled him up the stairs towards his dormitory, which was just as empty as most of the others because all their classmates had gone home. Since the founders of Hogwarts hadn't worried about girls sneaking into boys' dormitories, they got up there without experiencing any problems and then stopped on the threshold.

Mistletoe or not, Albus pulled Minerva into his arms and they kissed. But the kiss got more and more passionate and they started to move. The door closed behind them and they fell onto Albus' four-poster bed. Lying here, Albus let go of her lips to be able to look into Minerva's eyes again. His intention had been to make sure that this was really what she wanted. But there was no need.

The love they shared seemed to be almost tangible in the air around them and it was mixed with a passion that could neither be misunderstood nor ignored. The world could have come to an end around them, for all Albus cared. All that mattered to him right now was that wonderful girl in his arms that he loved more than he'd ever thought was even possible. And right here and now he could read in Minerva's eyes like in an open book and he knew that she felt the same way.

So when Albus positioned himself on top of her now, always careful not hurt her, and his hands began caressing her body, Minerva started purring like a cat and pulled his lips back onto hers, eager to melt with him completely tonight.


	9. Chapter 9

When the Christmas holidays ended and all the other students returned to the castle, Minerva wasn't exactly pleased. She had gotten used to having the Gryffindor tower almost to herself and had enjoyed it very much. She had been alone with Albus all day and night, and of course, she would never forget the first time they had made love and the others that had followed (she had found that once you'd gotten the hang of it, it was quite easy to duplicate).

Minerva couldn't help smiling at that. It felt like her relationship with Albus had changed over Christmas. Although she had been perfectly happy with the way things had been before, she felt like they had gotten even closer now, were even more committed to each other and as if their relationship had matured somehow. That was why it took Minerva a little longer to get used to all the noise and the crowded corridors again. But eventually, she settled back into her usual rhythm of classes, homework and their attempts of becoming Animagi.

January passed as it always did except for the announcement that they would soon get lessons to learn how to Apparate. And their Animagus project brought them only a few surprises, too, such as an M out of silvery fur that appeared on Minerva's forehead or Albus' hair turning gold like the mane of lion. But they managed to correct these accidents without anyone noticing, even though Minerva had assured Albus that a golden mane suited him very well.

When February arrived, however, the whole thing got a little more complicated.

"Oh dear…" Minerva's jaw dropped and she had to clamp her mouth shut to make sure she wouldn't scream or say something inappropriate.

They had decided to make another serious attempt at transforming and Albus had tried first. Well, he had managed to transform himself further than during any other previous attempt, but still it wasn't quite what he'd been going for. Minerva wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. It was just so… bizarre. Albus looked like a mixture of human being and lion. He had a lion's ears and eyes and a rather hairy mane. It also looked as if he had sprouted some whiskers and his hands and feet had turned into paws and to top it all, he even sported a tail.

"What in the name of Merlin are we going to do now?" Minerva asked. Albus opened his mouth and a roar escaped his throat that made Minerva jump in surprise. "Hey, giving me a heart attack certainly won't help!" she complained and then sighed. "Great, of course you had to transform your vocal cords, too."

Albus' eyes narrowed and his tail started twitching. Minerva dropped into an armchair and looked at him. "Well, I can't very well keep you this way. Human-lion hybrids are not allowed as pets." Albus put one of his huge paws on her right knee and Minerva winced. "Just kidding."

She took a few more minutes to ponder her options. She was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to turn Albus back herself or in any case, she was too afraid to try. No, this was beyond her. It was quite obvious that they needed help on this one. But was there a way to get help without getting into some serious trouble?

"Alright," Minerva finally got to her feet again and opened the trap door. "Come on!"

But Albus didn't move in the slightest.

"What? I thought lions were supposed to have superb hearing!" Albus growled at her and Minerva folded her arms across her chest. "Stop getting mad at me or I'll just leave you here! This is not my fault. But still I need to get you some help. So come on!"

She pointed at the trap door again and Albus finally started moving. It was difficult and anything but elegant how he climbed down the ladder without real hands and feet, but he managed and Minerva slowly followed him. "Now be quiet!" she told him when they descended the stairs.

"You know what, it's actually kind of nice when you can't disagree with me," Minerva said, a grin spreading across her face. She knew how much Albus had to control himself not to growl or roar or something like that. Instead, he just bared his claws. "Very funny," Minerva said drily, trying not to show much it worried her to see him like this.

They reached the foot of the tower and Minerva peered around the corner. "We have to get to the next empty classroom," she whispered and they hurried on. Just when they heard footsteps in front of them, they reached the next classroom and ran inside.

When Minerva had closed the door behind them, Albus looked at her as if to ask: _And now? _"Wait here," she decided.

Then Minerva left without further explanation and after she had rounded a few more corners, she bumped into the man she had been looking for. "Professor Caledonian, I was looking for you. I need your help, Sir."

Her old Professor looked surprised. "Really? What is it, my dear?"

"Well, Albus and I practiced Human Transfiguration and something went wrong. Could you come with me and have a look at him?"

They started hurrying back towards the classroom in which Minerva had left Albus. "Oh dear, you two are very talented, indeed. But experimenting with this is very difficult and dangerous. What happened exactly?"

"I tried to turn him into a lion and it went… wrong."

"Galloping Gargoyles, a lion?" Caledonian stared at her.

Minerva hesitated. "It was… just a joke. I didn't expect anything to happen, really."

"My dear girl, with your talent you should never expect that nothing happens when you use your wand. But let me see."

They entered the classroom and Albus growled in surprise when he saw Professor Caledonian. The Transfiguration teacher stopped. "Well I'll be… this is quite astonishing."

Minerva looked from Albus to her Professor. "But can you help him, Sir?"

"Well, we'll see." When Professor Caledonian pulled out his wand, Albus looked at Minerva and she thought she knew what he wanted to say. Caledonian thought that Minerva had cast a spell on Albus, but in fact he had transformed himself. It was possible that this was important when it came to the correct counter-spell. And indeed nothing happened when Professor Caledonian waved his wand.

"Exceptional," he muttered. "Well, Madam Heathral will have to take a look at him, I think."

So they all went to the Hospital Wing and the matron looked pretty shocked at first, but then pulled Albus resolutely behind a curtain while Minerva and Professor Caledonian waited.

The latter cleared his throat. "Although this is a very impressive piece of magic, even though you didn't even manage to transform Mr. Dumbledore completely, I can't tolerate it, of course."

Minerva sighed. She had expected this. But as long as Professor Caledonian thought that this had been a spell that had gone wrong, she wasn't really worried. "Yes, Sir. I'm sorry."

"We haven't come this far in Human Transfiguration in class. So I strongly advise that you put these experiments on hold and concentrate on practicing in my lessons. I won't say more about it this time because I appreciate your talent and ambition. But if anything like this happens again…" He looked at her sternly. "I think we understand each other, Miss McGonagall."

Minerva nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Professor Caledonian left and after a few more minutes Madame Heathral and Albus appeared again. To Minerva's relief he again looked like the handsome, young man she loved so much. She smiled and hugged him fiercely.

"Well, if you like him so much, I would advise you stop cursing him," the matron said and vanished into her office.

Minerva chuckled. "Now I'm the girl, who tried to turn her boyfriend into an animal. Wonder if we just set a new trend. Anyway, how does it feel to be human again?"

Albus pulled her towards him and kissed her. "Just great." They started walking back to the Gryffindor tower. "What did Professor Caledonian say?"

"That if something like this happens again, we're in for serious trouble," Minerva replied.

Albus frowned. "That doesn't sound good."

Minerva shrugged. "We just have to be careful, I think."

"We've been careful. I'm afraid you can't avoid incidents like that. They are part of the process," Albus disagreed.

"Well, but we can't just give up now!"

They reached the Gryffindor common room and climbed through the portrait hole. "We'll find a solution. But perhaps a short break would be good," Albus suggested. "We have to concentrate on our Apparition test anyway."

"Uh, right." Minerva sighed and settled into an armchair.

"A test Minerva McGonagall isn't looking forward to?" Albus asked, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Very funny," Minerva muttered and folded her arms across her chest. It wasn't that she was bad at Apparating. She just wanted to pass this test real bad because being allowed to Apparate would make her life so much easier.

"It's not that difficult, really," Albus said. "Destination." He put a finger on Minerva's lips. "Determination." He moved closer to her. "And Deliberation." He kissed her.

"Thanks, that really helped a lot," Minerva complained, but she smiled, relieved that running around as a half-lion apparently hadn't disturbed Albus much.

* * *

><p>Sometimes it was really frustrating that her name came after Albus' in the alphabet. All sixth-years who were old enough to take the test were in Hogsmeade and one after the other had to Disapparate while being closely watched by the examiner. Albus disappeared without leaving any part of him behind and reappeared exactly on the spot he had been supposed to. And Minerva could see quite clearly how the examiner scribbled a '<em>passed'<em> on his sheet.

Minerva closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could do this. She'd had enough practice. And she just couldn't fail, while Albus passed the test. Minerva smiled at that thought. But what was more important, if she failed the test, she wouldn't be able to visit Albus in the holidays… Her name was called and Minerva stepped forwards.

"Destination. Determination. Deliberation," she thought and disappeared. When she reappeared, Minerva hesitated a moment before opening her eyes. This was right! She had reappeared on the right spot and as far as she could tell, she hadn't left a nail or anything behind. Minerva saw the examiner nod and turned around, smiling, looking for Albus.

He waited for her and Minerva ran into his arms. "We passed!"

"Yes, and again much ado about nothing." Albus smiled.

Minerva was too happy to bother with the fact that she had again worried too much and her good mood prevailed even after the pretty gruesome sight of a Slytherin boy who left half of his enormous belly behind.

* * *

><p>"I thought I had made myself clear."<p>

Albus and Minerva were in the Hospital Wing and listened to Professor Caledonian's rage. After the entire March had passed, Minerva had insisted on another attempt at transforming themselves into Animagi. And Albus had finally agreed because they both knew that they were close and that they just couldn't give up after all this time. But Albus' initial hesitation turned out to be warranted. This time Minerva transformed herself halfway into a cat and of course, Professor Caledonian wasn't pleased at all.

"You finally have to understand that this is dangerous. And I can't tolerate it this time. You'll serve detention tonight! You will…" he hesitated, obviously searching for an idea. "Ah, I happen to know that Professor Mandrake needs a few special herbs, which have to be picked around midnight during a full moon. So you'll go into the forest with our gamekeeper and help him collect them."

A few minutes later Albus and Minerva walked towards the Gryffindor tower. "In our sixth year we finally managed to get ourselves detention," Minerva said.

"Well, I guess it has to be part of every school career at some point," Albus tried to joke about it.

"Perhaps, but couldn't we have written lines or something like that? I don't fancy going into the Forbidden Forest at full moon." She didn't want to sound scared – she was a Gryffindor, after all. But there was a difference between being brave and being stupid. This seemed like the latter to her.

"The stories about the Forbidden Forest are probably greatly exaggerated," Albus mused.

Minerva shrugged. "Still, I never wanted to be the one to find out." But she knew they shouldn't be complaining. They were lucky that Professor Caledonian hadn't realised what they've really been up to or detention would have been the least of their problems.

So, around eleven o'clock they left the castle and met the gamekeeper at his small cabin behind which the Forbidden Forest loomed, looking very dark and very uninviting.

"Well, according to Professor Mandrake, these herbs are most likely to be found on a clearing because there would be no other plants that could have taken up their space. There are three major clearings in the forest, so I guess it would be most sensible if each of us picks one," Artjom Rutledge, the gamekeeper, explained to them.

Minerva frowned. "We are going to separate?"

"Well, yeah, it's the fastest way to get those herbs, ain't it?" Rutledge replied. "I'll take the clearing that's north from our position because it's farthest into the forest. You could go east," he pointed at Minerva, "and you west," he pointed at Albus. "If you're careful to head strictly east or west you can't miss it."

"I don't like that," Albus said, glancing at Minerva.

"Hey, wasn't my idea that you're supposed to spend your detention with me," the gamekeeper shrugged. "But these herbs are quite delicate. If we don't hurry, they'll be no use to us. Besides, I thought you Gryffindor lot were so brave?"

Albus opened his mouth to reply, but Minerva put a hand on his arm. "It's okay. Let's just do it. Go into the forest, get the herbs and get out again. How difficult can that be, really? Besides, if these herbs are so important…" She trailed off.

Perhaps Rutledge's last comment had hurt her pride as a Gryffindor and perhaps she was doing exactly what she had wanted to avoid – being ridiculously brave. But they didn't have much of a choice, did they? She certainly wouldn't go back to Professor Caledonian and tell him that she was too scared to do the detention he had given her.

Albus looked at her and she could tell that he still didn't like the idea of going into the forest alone. Or to be more precise, Minerva was pretty sure that he wasn't worried about himself. He just didn't want _her_ to go into the forest on her own.

Sure enough, he sighed and said, "Alright, but if you encounter any problems, send red sparks into the air. Remember, you said you didn't want to find out whether the stories are true."

Minerva smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'm going into a forest, not into battle."

"And use the four-point-spell to make sure you don't veer off course," Albus continued as if he hadn't heard her.

Now, enough was enough. "I got it, Albus! I'm a witch, remember? I can handle it!" Minerva hissed.

Albus seemed to realise his mistake and his expression softened. "Of course you can. Just… be careful."

Minerva rolled her eyes, but squeezed his hand before entering the forest, and after consulting her wand by using the four-point-spell, she started heading east.

When the darkness of the trees closed in around her, Minerva wished she had never heard of all the things that supposedly lived in this forest. But she marched on, only stopping once or twice to check whether she was still heading east. This was probably really stupid, but she wanted to find those herbs – not so much because Professor Mandrake would be thrilled and heal numerous people or whatnot, but because she wanted to prove to Albus that she _could_.

Still, Minerva was beyond grateful when she finally found the clearing and the herbs, glistening in the moonlight. She picked a whole bunch of them and stuffed them into her pocket. Now she only needed to find her way back.

She was just thinking that this had been a whole lot easier than she'd thought when Minerva suddenly heard something move behind her. She closed her eyes. _Don't be stupid_, she chastised herself. But the rustling of leaves and snapping of branches didn't stop. There _really_ was something following her. Minerva spun around and her wand illuminated a giant spider.

Minerva opened her mouth to scream, but she could only gasp in shock. Her wand started shaking in her hand. "Stupefy!" she yelled. The jet of red light didn't seem to bother the spider more than a fly would have. "Impedimenta! … Petrificus Totalus!" The spider moved forwards unharmed.

Minerva tried very hard not to panic. _Think, Minerva, think! _she yelled at herself_. '…send red sparks.' _Albus voice resounded in her head_. _But Minerva hesitated. If she called for Albus now, she would only put him in danger, too. He was a great wizard, but did he stand a chance against an Acromantula? She would never be able to forgive herself if the answer was no. But then, she would probably be dead in a few seconds…

"Periculum!" Minerva yelled and while red sparks erupted from her wand, she tripped over a root and fell backwards. Now she did scream. The spider was almost on top of her. Albus couldn't help her anymore. She had to do something, anything…

If she couldn't harm the spider… of course, she had to concentrate on herself instead! Minerva closed her eyes and pictured the little Tabby cat she knew so well by now. She was shaking so much that she was afraid she would transform into Jell-O instead and for a terrible moment it actually felt that way.

But then Minerva suddenly opened her eyes again and when she could see everything around her as if it was bright daylight, she knew she had succeeded. But this was not the time to celebrate. In the last second, Minerva took the first option her cat-mind offered her. She used her claws to climb up the next tree.

* * *

><p>Albus couldn't stop feeling that this was wrong. He walked through this stupid forest and all he could think about was Minerva and whether she was alright. He knew she was sensitive to him being a little overprotective of her, but right now he didn't care. He should have never agreed to this…<p>

Just when Albus thought that he could see the clearing ahead, he spotted the red sparks in the air and froze. Then he heard Minerva scream and he broke out into a run. Minerva was in danger and the horror in her voice seemed to burn itself into Albus' memory while he tried to run even faster. But he knew that it was hopeless. He was too far away. They had headed into opposite directions, after all, although it had sounded as if Minerva had already been on her way back.

It didn't matter. He was too slow. He wouldn't be able to reach her in time. No, he couldn't bear losing her! It wasn't just a horror scenario or his worst nightmare, it was absolutely impossible and unacceptable! He had to be faster… _somehow_… make a mighty jump to reach her… and suddenly Albus knew _how_.

While he was still running, he tightened his hold on his wand in determination. There was no time for preparation or concentration. All he could think about was that Minerva might die if he didn't transform _NOW_. Something erupted inside of him. The feeling was worse than Apparating for the first time, but powerful just the same.

And suddenly he jumped three meters at a time and earth crumbled under his paws.

* * *

><p>Minerva clung to the tree with her claws and tried to keep her balance by using her tail – which was far from easy since she'd never had a tail before. Although the spider had been irritated by her transformation at first, it seemed to have decided that it would also like cat for dinner and kept running against the tree now, shaking it violently.<p>

Minerva wasn't sure whether the tree would survive this mistreatment long enough for the spider to lose its interest in her and started wondering whether she should simply try to run off into the forest since she was much faster and smaller now and her eyesight was brilliant, when she suddenly heard a deafening roar.

Something enormous and golden jumped out of the darkness and at the spider. Minerva's whiskers started trembling and her tail twitched while she watched the battle going on below her. The spider seemed rather irritated at being attacked by a lion and when he scratched one of its eyes out, the Acromantula finally seemed to be fed up with cats and stumbled away.

Minerva meowed quietly and jumped off the tree. The lion stood there with his mouth open, catching his breath. He turned his head and when Minerva looked up at him (he was frighteningly big from vantage point of a small cat), she would have smiled if she had been able to. The lion had Albus' clear blue eyes.

He lowered his head and Minerva kissed his nose with hers, rubbed her head against his snout and mane and purred loudly (it just happened instinctively). Albus let out a soft growl and lay down to indicate her to jump onto his back. Minerva did so and nestled down in his soft mane. She kept purring and massaged his neck with her paws. Albus let out another pleased growl and trotted forwards.

Minerva didn't know how long they had walked through the forest that way. But they stopped when they heard someone hurrying towards them. Minerva jumped down from Albus' back and they looked at each other. They knew they had to transform back into their human forms. Minerva searched Albus' eyes for instruction, but he wasn't being very helpful.

She heard the gamekeeper close in on them. Now, she had to transform back, now, or they were in serious trouble, perhaps they would even get expelled…

Rutledge appeared in front of them. "Merlin be thanked, there you are. Are you alright?" he gasped.

Albus and Minerva looked at each other and a huge smile spread across their faces. "Yes, we're fine," Albus replied.

"I even got those herbs…" Minerva said, reaching into her pocket.

"You did?" Albus looked surprised.

"Told you I could do it. No problem." When Minerva saw the expression on Albus' face, she started laughing.

Rutledge looked at them as if they might have gone mad and hurried to usher them out of the forest and back towards the castle.

On their way back towards the Gryffindor tower, Albus reached for Minerva's hand. "You know, I was really scared of losing you there for a while," he whispered.

"But it gave you the strength to transform, did it not?" Minerva asked. Albus nodded. "We could have come up with that earlier. Just a little mortal peril…" She trailed off when she saw Albus frown and squeezed his hand instead. "Anyway, you didn't lose me. And you're the most beautiful lion I have ever seen."

* * *

><p>In May, spring finally seemed to arrive at Hogwarts and the grounds filled with students again. Albus and Minerva followed their usual path along the lake and away from the forest (they'd had enough excitement in there for now).<p>

"We actually managed to become Animagi. I have to admit that I had my doubts about that when I urged you to try it," Minerva said thoughtfully and watched how the giant squid played tag with some first-years.

After the incident in the forest she had been afraid that she would always need a giant spider chasing after her to transform herself. But a few days later they had tried again and after a couple of repeated attempts, they had managed it without facing death and had done so ever since. It really seemed as if they'd gotten the hang of this, too. Of course, Albus couldn't make use of this ability as often as Minerva could, being a lion and all that…

Albus smiled as if he had read her thoughts and Minerva looked up at him. "Do you think we should let the Ministry register us?"

Albus shook his head. "No, at least not yet. They would only ask unpleasant questions. Later perhaps when we've finished school."

"When we've finished school…" Minerva repeated. "It's not that far away."

"I know. This year's exams and then it's time for our NEWTs."

They were both silent for a while. "I've got a letter from my aunt this morning," Minerva then told him. "She asked me whether I'll come and stay with her for the holidays."

"And what did you tell her?" Albus asked.

"That I'll be staying with her." Minerva had thought about this a lot. In her opinion, she and Albus were more adult now than they had ever been before – not only because they were both seventeen now. But they'd had a close and serious relationship for one and a half years now, they loved each other, they'd made love, they'd passed their Apparition test and they'd become Animagi.

However, they were still at Hogwarts and would be for another year and only two months of holidays lay ahead of them. So Minerva had concluded that it wouldn't make sense not to return to her aunt's house for these two months. Now that she was off age, the thought of staying with her wasn't so horrifying anymore, after all. Still, Minerva knew that these were going to be her last months at her aunt's house.

Albus nodded, apparently satisfied with her decision. They smiled at each other. "I think we should think of our seventh year as our last adventure here in Hogwarts," he said.

"Well, it probably will be. Nothing we've done so far was as important as our NEWTs will be," Minerva agreed.

"Oh no, you won't start freaking out already, will you?" Albus moaned.

"I'm not freaking out," Minerva said indignantly. "Almost getting killed by an enormous spider tends to straighten out your priorities."

"Why, I don't believe that even for a second," Albus said, shaking his head, and laughed when he saw her face. But before she could actually say anything (or turn into a Tabby cat and run off – it wasn't her problem that lions weren't exactly common around here), he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

* * *

><p>AN: Hope you liked it. Their seventh year is coming up and that might just turn out to be the last chapter…


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait, but here it is, finally, the last chapter and it's quite a long one, too. Hope you enjoy ;)

* * *

><p>This time Minerva had really enjoyed the summer holidays because due to their new ability to apparate she and Albus had been together constantly. Only now she had fully realized how useful apparition really was because in Hogwarts you couldn't use it that much, of course. But during the holidays they had been able to visit each other whenever they felt like it (so, basically, almost every day, really).<p>

Minerva had especially enjoyed visiting Albus because his relatives owned a huge, old mansion with a library that was almost as awe-inspiring as the one in Hogwarts and a gigantic piece of land with an entire forest all for themselves. So on rainy afternoons, Albus and Minerva had spent their time in the library and on the warm summer nights, they had strolled through the forest, either in their human or Animagus form.

Minerva loved nestling down in Albus' soft mane, especially since there was no need to worry about being seen. Only once after they had lain down and Minerva had curled herself up on Albus' back, they had both fallen asleep (that was shockingly easy if you were a cat or even a lion) and a lost wanderer had almost spotted them. But thanks to their excellent hearing, only almost.

When at last their final year at Hogwarts began, Minerva almost wished that she could turn back time and make the summer holidays last forever. They had known all along that the seventh year would be hard, but she hadn't thought it would be so entirely exhausting. The teachers pushed and challenged them as if their lives depended on it and not just their NEWTs. One homework was more difficult than the next and most of the teachers demanded at least one essay per weak, which they marked as if it had already been their NEWT exam.

Whenever one saw a seventh-year in the Gryffindor common room, they were either studying or had fallen asleep over their homework. It was no different when Minerva returned to the common room that evening. She had a quick look around and then dropped into an armchair near the table Albus was sitting at.

He only needed one look at her before he asked, "What's wrong?"

Minerva sighed. "You know I was in the library to look up that Mandrus tuber for Herbology and I found nothing. Absolutely nothing! Then I got so frustrated that I threw _Plants all around the world _all around the library."

"You've thrown a book through the library?" Albus repeated in disbelief and drenched his parchment with ink.

"Well, yes, and then the librarian threw me out," Minerva admitted and rested her head on the table. "I have no idea why I insisted on keeping that subject."

"Well, it certainly is beyond me," Albus said, having dropped Herbology himself, and looked at her closely. "Maybe you should take a break."

"You mean before I'm going totally mad?" Minerva asked sarcastically.

"Well, it's certainly not a good sign if you begin to throw books around," Albus replied softly.

Minerva groaned. "I know. But it's just all so much right now."

Albus reached for her hand and squeezed it. "But if there's anyone who can manage all this, it's you."

Minerva smiled weakly. "Thanks, but certainly not with an _Acceptable_ in Potions."

"That was only this one homework. It just wasn't your day," Albus said.

"Yeah, I guess I'll just say that during my exam, too. _Sorry, it's not my day_." Minerva snorted.

"Come on, Tabby," Albus teased her, "do you really want to surrender – because of _Potions_ or Herbology?"

Minerva looked at him and sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. I've got to stop pitying myself. That's pathetic and not… worthy of a McGonagall. If I ever start doing it again, just slap me or something!"

"Uh, I would really rather not," Albus said, shaking his head.

"Coward," Minerva shot back, but smiled at him.

* * *

><p>She had no idea how, but somehow – certainly very slowly and very exhausting – the months passed and Christmas arrived. After most of the students had left Hogwarts as they did every year, Minerva lay down on one of the sofas in the common room.<p>

"Gee, I was never this thrilled about the holidays before," she said.

Albus sat down next to her and Minerva rested her head in his lap. "Although we still have to do homework."

"I know. But let me cherish the illusion for a few more minutes," Minerva begged and Albus just smiled.

She closed her eyes to relax a little, but then she heard somebody open the portrait hole and climb through it with quite a lot of noise. Albus suddenly stopped stroking her hair and cleared his throat.

"What?" Minerva asked, opened one eye reluctantly and sat up at once. The unwanted visitor she had heard climbing through the portrait hole was no other than Professor Caledonian. "Why do I have the feeling that this means that we're in trouble again?" she whispered.

Albus didn't respond because their Professor approached them now. "Er… sorry to disturb you, my dears. But we just received a message from St. Mungo's." He looked at Albus and so did Minerva. "I'm afraid… your mother is not well."

Minerva just sat there in shock while Albus still didn't say anything. Professor Caledonian obviously felt uncomfortable, too. "I think you should better go and pay her a visit. You know how to get there, I assume?"

"Yes," Albus replied curtly.

"Of course, you've probably been there before. Well then, I hope your mother will be feeling better soon, and if you do need help after all, you know where to find me." Professor Caledonian turned around and left again.

Albus stood up and Minerva immediately followed suit. "Are you leaving for St. Mungo's?" she asked.

"I have to," Albus nodded.

"Can I come, too? I mean, you've been there for me when my parents… oh dear, I didn't mean to imply that your mother's going to die…" Minerva hesitated, afraid of saying something stupid again.

"But she will," Albus merely said and Minerva looked at him in shock. "Her condition has been critical for a while now and if the healers think it necessary to send for me now, then there can be only one reason for it," he explained.

Minerva didn't really know what to say or do. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Albus looked at her. "I wouldn't want to go there without you," he finally answered her question.

She hurried to get their cloaks and then they left the common room, the castle and the school grounds. Minerva reached for Albus' hand and squeezed it before they disapparated.

St. Mungo's was as crowded as always, holidays or not. It took them a while, but finally they made their way up to the right floor, and there they met Albus' grandaunt and -uncle and Aberforth. But it seemed to Minerva that Albus' younger brother didn't really understand what was going on.

Albus' granduncle rested a hand on his shoulder. "The healers say that she probably won't make it through the night." Minerva sighed at hearing Albus' suspicion confirmed. "You can go in and see her. But when we tried to talk to her, she wasn't herself."

"She hasn't been herself in years," Albus replied and his granduncle stepped back with a sad nod.

"I'll wait here then," Minerva whispered when Albus headed for the room of his mother.

But he stopped and turned around to her. "No, would you please come in with me?"

Minerva was surprised by this request, but she nodded of course and they entered the room together. She tried not to show it, but the room gave her the creeps. Perhaps she made it up, but it felt as if death was already tangible in the air around them. Minerva stopped at the end of the bed while Albus walked up to stand next to the pillow on which his mother's head rested.

She looked terribly pale and thin and not much better than she had in the kitchen when Minerva had seen her for the first time. But the worst part about her appearance was that she was lying there with her eyes open wide and humming silently to herself. She didn't seem to notice her son at all. Apparently, there were some wounds that were too deep to heal.

Minerva felt dreadful. She knew that Albus wanted her to be here with him. But just to stand here felt wrong somehow. However, she didn't dare to approach Albus to hug him or something like that. He was here to say goodbye to his mother and Minerva decided to just be silent and to pretend that she wasn't actually here for the moment. It was a very long moment.

But then all of a sudden Albus' mother stopped humming and her eyes focused on Albus. "Is that you? My… my eldest son?"

Albus looked as surprised as Minerva felt. "Yes, I'm here, mother."

"I'm so glad. I need to… say to you…" her voice was very faint. Albus reached for his mother's hand and moved closer so that he could hear her better. "I'm sorry… that you never got the love from us… you deserved." Albus' eyes were fixed on his mother, his facial expression was blank. "But you need… to know… I always loved you."

Minerva clamped her mouth shut, but she still couldn't stop a sob from escaping her throat. Angry with herself, she clenched her teeth. She was here to comfort Albus, she mustn't cry. _Pull yourself together!_ Minerva thought.

"Who's here with you?" Albus' mother still asked and Minerva wished she could manage a Disillusionment charm that was strong enough to make herself invisible.

Albus didn't look up when he said: "Minerva, my girlfriend. You've seen her before."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes, I do," Albus replied without hesitation.

"I'm glad… Minerva, would you… come here?" his mother asked without lifting her head to actually look at her.

Minerva hesitated. She glanced at Albus, but he still didn't look up. So Minerva moved closer, but on the other side of the bed. Somehow, she didn't want to close in on Albus' personal space just now. She wasn't sure whether he would want her to.

Albus' mother turned her head very slowly towards her. Minerva tried very hard to put on a smile even though she felt so sad. "Thank you… for giving him… the love he deserves."

Minerva was at a total loss for words. But she didn't have to say anything because Albus' mother turned her head to her son again, and very slowly she reached out for him with a trembling hand to touch his cheek. Then her hand fell back down on the bed and she stared at the ceiling and started humming again.

At that moment a healer entered the room. "I think you've already been told that it will probably be her last night," he said quietly, although Minerva was quite sure that Albus' mother was lost in her madness again and didn't hear them. "Of course you can stay here with her. But perhaps it would be better if you just said your goodbyes and … didn't stay to watch."

Minerva looked from the healer to Albus. He nodded, and after a last glance at his mother he headed for the door. Minerva quickly followed him. Out on the floor Albus gave his little brother a hug and then headed for the exit of the hospital. Minerva just kept following him – out of St. Mungo's and after they had apparated back to Hogwarts, up to the castle and into the Gryffindor common room.

There Albus stopped and Minerva reached for his hand. When she stood next to him, she saw that a single tear was running down his cheek. Minerva pulled him into a hug and felt how his arms tightened around her.

After a long while Minerva stepped back again and they sat down on the sofa while she still held Albus' hands. She looked into his eyes. The tear was gone now. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"It's okay," Albus replied slowly. "I had come to terms with all this after my father had been sent to Azkaban. I knew my mother would never recover. The few minutes today… I have never heard her speak to me more clearly. But I'm sure that it will be a relief for her when… it's over."

Minerva squeezed his hands and Albus looked at her. "And she was right. I have to be thankful for the love you're giving me."

Minerva shook her head. "You will have my love – forever and a day."

And a small smile appeared on Albus' lips before he pulled her into his arms again.

* * *

><p>When school started again, the work load seemed to get even worse although Minerva had thought that to be impossible. But apparently, it wasn't. And it got worse with each passing week even though Minerva often forgot which day of the week they had because in her head was only room for homework.<p>

Minerva had always been a hard worker and studying had become second nature to her. She could handle it – or so she repeatedly told herself. Still, sometimes Minerva couldn't help wondering whether she should have listened to Albus, after all, and dropped some of her subjects. Only because she had made it through her OWLs, apparently did not mean that she would pass her NEWTs just as easily.

"Min…"

She felt Albus' soft hand on her shoulder and sat up straight again. "Just dozed off for a sec," she yawned and tried to focus on the open book in her lap.

"You should go to bed," Albus said.

Minerva shook her head. "I have to read this before…"

"You can finish it tomorrow. We have time to read it until Wednesday," Albus insisted.

Minerva opened her mouth to protest, but then realized that she was actually too tired to argue with him. "Alright." She closed the book, took all her stuff and gave Albus a soft goodnight kiss. Then Minerva climbed up the stairs into her dormitory, lay down on her bed and opened the book again. Whatever Albus said, she had to read this now because tomorrow they would surely get another huge pile of homework.

When Minerva woke up the next morning, she moaned. She had kept reading in her bed as long as she had been able to stay awake. But still, she hadn't finished the damn book. So Minerva got dressed and went down into the common room – with the book in her hands.

Albus was already waiting for her. "You really need to get more sleep," he said when he looked at her and probably spotted the dark circles under her eyes.

"Good morning to you, too, honey," Minerva replied sarcastically and kissed him.

Albus smiled. "Ready for breakfast?"

"No, go ahead without me. I want to finish reading this book first," Minerva explained.

"Why are you obsessing about this book? I told you it's only due…"

"Wednesday, I know. But I want to finish it now," Minerva interrupted him. "I'll catch up with you later."

Albus didn't look pleased, but apparently, he recognized her 'don't-you-dare-argue-with-me' voice and finally left without her.

Minerva dropped into an armchair and continued to read. Her stomach started complaining after a while, but she ignored it until she finally turned the last page. She crammed the book into her bag and glanced at her watch. It was still time for breakfast. She could go down now to catch up with Albus as she'd promised or she could rewrite the last paragraph of her Charms essay, which was probably abysmally bad because it had been so late when she'd tried to write it. In spite of her rumbling stomach, Minerva decided to do the latter.

She had just finished with her essay when Albus returned from the Great Hall with most of the other students.

"Where have you been?" he asked her.

"Oh, it took longer than I thought," Minerva just said.

Albus shook his head, reached into his pocket and handed her a napkin wrapped around some toast.

Minerva smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, now let's go or we'll be late for Potions."

* * *

><p>Albus didn't even bother to wait for Minerva anymore. It had become a new and (in his opinion) quite disturbing habit of hers not to go down into the Great Hall for breakfast and to use the time for homework instead. At first, he had tried to talk her out of it, but of course he hadn't been successful. So now he just kept bringing something back for her so that she would eat anything at all.<p>

It was no different today. After breakfast Albus returned into the common room and Minerva smiled when he gave her the toast (not much variety when you had to smuggle food), but then put it aside.

"Have you finished it?" he asked, looking at the piece of parchment in front of her.

"Almost," Minerva replied and started scribbling faster.

Albus reached for one of the books he had to read until it was finally time for classes to start. When they stood up, Minerva stumbled. Albus caught her and frowned. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I just tripped over something," Minerva said, but when they set off for the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom, Albus watched her, really beginning to feel worried. Perhaps he made it up, but he thought that Minerva looked unusually pale. Perhaps she didn't feel well, but of course she would never admit that because she wouldn't want to miss class.

They sat down and Professor Merrythought told them to work in pairs as usual. Albus and Minerva got up and started duelling or something. What actually happened was that Albus chose the weakest spells he could come up with because Minerva looked as if she might drop her wand at any second and her counter-curses caressed him like a gentle breeze.

Albus was just arguing with himself whether he should tell Professor Merrythought that Minerva wasn't feeling well today, even though that would most certainly make Minerva mad at him for the rest of the day, when Minerva suddenly started staggering. Albus had just enough time to conjure up a pillow before she collapsed on top of it.

"Min!" Albus hurried towards her and kneeled down next to her. Their classmates looked astonished and Professor Merrythought appeared at his side.

"What happened?" she asked.

Albus held Minerva's unconscious body in his arms and caressed a strand of hair out of her pale face. "I… don't know. She just fainted."

"Alright, hospital wing," Professor Merrythought muttered. "You can come along if you like," she said to Albus. "And the rest of you, get back to work!"

Professor Merrythought conjured up a stretcher and lifted Minerva onto it. It started to float at her side and this way they marched towards the hospital wing.

Madame Heathral hurried towards them when they entered. "What happened?" she asked while she lifted Minerva onto one of the beds.

"Fainted," Professor Merrythought told her curtly.

"And why?" Madame Heathral kept asking while she checked Minerva's pulse.

"That's your job," Professor Merrythought said, shrugging.

Madame Heathral looked at Albus. "Do you know?"

"Er…" Albus found it incredibly hard to concentrate while Minerva looked so weak and so… unconscious.

"Wait, you're a seventh-year, aren't you?" the matron suddenly asked and Albus just nodded. Madame Heathral shook her head. "Every bloody year."

"Excuse me?" Professor Merrythought asked while Madame Heathral went to fetch some kind of liquid.

"It's the NEWTs," she replied and let some of that liquid trickle into Minerva's mouth.

"But it's not even exam week yet," Professor Merrythought protested.

"Doesn't matter. The stress is still there. And there are always some students who push it too hard."

"Which means…?"

"They don't get enough sleep. They don't eat. They don't take breaks… It's ridiculous. As if school were more important than their health!" Madame Heathral shook her head and looked at Minerva. "I've given her a sleep potion. She needs rest and then she needs to eat something. A few days hospital wing… until I'm sure that she'll behave more sensible in the future."

"She won't like that," Albus muttered.

"Well, then she should have been more reasonable in the first place," Madame Heathral said indignantly.

"Alright, if she'll be resting now, you can come back to class with me," Professor Merrythought decided and headed for the door.

Albus looked at Minerva. He didn't want to leave her, but there was no point in arguing with Professor Merrythought. "I'll be back," he whispered and then hurried to follow his teacher.

Time passed terribly slowly and during each break Albus walked up to the hospital wing to check on Minerva. In the end, Madame Heathral got so annoyed that she threw him out and told him not to return before six o'clock.

At six o'clock sharp, Albus was back. Madame Heathral didn't look happy, but she let him in. It looked as if Minerva was still asleep, but on her bedside table stood a tray with some leftover food. And when Albus sat down next to the bed, Minerva opened her eyes.

"Hey," he said and kissed the back of her hand.

"Hey, I've been wondering when you would show up. You wouldn't believe how boring it is in here," Minerva complained and almost sounded as if everything was back to normal

"When did you wake up?" Albus asked.

"Not sure. Two hours ago, I think, but it felt like two _days_," Minerva replied and Albus smiled. "Did we get homework? Of course we did. Have you…?"

Albus shook his head. "Studying is out of the question for now. Madame Heathral absolutely forbade it."

"I'm not a child," Minerva protested.

"But you acted like one," Albus said.

"What…?"

"I never thought you would go this far, Minerva. How could you have been so careless? All the not eating and not sleeping… Did you ever stop to consider that if you get yourself killed, you certainly won't pass your NEWTs either?"

"Whoa, calm down, Albus. It really wasn't that bad. You're all overreacting. I am fine," Minerva assured him.

"It didn't look that way when you just fainted in class," Albus shot back.

Minerva looked at him and then squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry if I scared you. It won't happen again."

"Oh, I know it won't because I will make sure of that." Albus tried to look serious and angry, but he failed miserably.

"Alright, I get it," Minerva said, shaking her head. "But couldn't you smuggle just a tiny, little book for me next time you visit…?" Albus glared at her and Minerva gave up. "Okay, forget I even asked."

Two days later Madam Heathral agreed to let Minerva go after she had promised to take better care of herself (and Albus had promised to watch her do it) and the Easter holidays were coming up, anyway, so Minerva argued that she would have plenty of time to relax.

That was a blatant lie, of course, because the seventh-years spent their holidays learning for their NEWTs since the first exam was scheduled to take place in the first week of June and that was only little over a month away. But Albus forced Minerva to go to bed at eleven o'clock at the latest and made sure that she never missed breakfast, lunch or dinner. But after a few days she started doing all this without further prompting because she said that she refused to be treated like a child.

So they made it through May without further incidents, but then the NEWTs were suddenly there. Their first exam was Defence against the Dark Arts, which was immediately followed by Potions, Arithmancy and Charms.

On one examination free afternoon Albus and Minerva walked up to the Owlery because she had to answer a letter from her aunt. While Minerva looked around for a school owl to borrow, Albus leaned against the wall.

"We're almost done," he said thoughtfully.

"Thank Merlin, I'm so fed up with school exams," Minerva replied and stepped towards a big barn owl.

"Yes, but with the end of the NEWTs comes the end of our time here at Hogwarts. In-between all this stress, we haven't talked about… oh wait, I took that owl a few days ago. It bites." Albus pushed off the wall, took the letter from Minerva and attached it to the owl's leg. It shrieked and flew away.

"Why do you always have to do that?" Minerva asked and folded her arms across her chest.

Albus looked at her in confusion. "Do what?"

"Well, something like that. I could have sent the letter on my own, you know."

"I just didn't want you to get bitten by the owl," Albus said.

"Well, that's cute. But I'm not a child. I can handle it," Minerva shot back.

"Okay," Albus said, realizing that this was not a good time to argue with her. "I'll keep that in mind."

They left the Owlery and were on their way back towards the Gryffindor tower when they met Peeves. The poltergeist hovered in the air with lots of chalk in his hands and started throwing it at them immediately. Albus stepped in front of Minerva and pointed his wand at Peeves. The spell blasted the poltergeist out of the way, and cursing loudly, he fled.

Albus continued on their way to the common room until he noticed that Minerva wasn't following him. "What's up?" he asked, turning around.

"You did it again," Minerva said.

"What?" Albus asked, puzzled.

"What we just talked about," Minerva replied.

Albus frowned. "We talked about an owl."

Minerva sighed. "It's not about that stupid owl. It's about your insistence to control me in order to '_protect_' me – from that owl, Peeves or whatever."

"Alright, I'm sorry. Next time you'll finish him off," Albus gave in. "We're all a bit worn out because of the exams. Let's not argue about this now."

"No, it's not because of the exams. You're doing it in general!" Minerva insisted.

"Well, it was just… instinct," Albus said, desperately trying to find something that would calm her down again.

"Yes, it _always_ is. But it's getting on my nerves."

Unable to come up with something, Albus sighed. "Well, what do you want from me, Minerva?"

"I want you to stop treating me like that only because you are the greatest young wizard Hogwarts has ever seen!" Minerva told him.

"I _never _said anything like that. You are the one who keeps insisting that I am the better wizard. And what's so bad about it if I don't want you to get hurt?"

"It's bad that you're treating me like a child because of it. Remember for example when we decided to use the divination classroom for our Animagi project? You insisted on climbing up the ladder first as if the crystal balls might attack me or something!" Minerva's eyes flashed with anger when she went on, "You just wanted to talk about what we're going to do after Hogwarts. Well, all I know is that I can't stand _that _kind of behaviour because whatever your intentions are, this is _not_ an equal partnership! And I'm sorry, but McGonagall women are not used to behaving like good, little housewives!"

Albus' eyes narrowed. "How can you make such an accusation against me of all people? How can you even think that I would ever try to tell you what to do or dominate you? Don't you dare compare me to my father!"

"Wha…? I didn't…"

They glared at each other angrily and at the same time they turned around and Minerva headed towards the library and Albus towards the Gryffindor tower.

There he entered his dormitory and lay down on his four-poster bed. It was the first time in all those years that Albus was actually angry with Minerva. How could she compare him to his father? How could she even imply that she might end up as oppressed and broken as his mother had if she stayed in a relationship with him? As if anyone could ever tell her what to do. As if he would ever do something that might hurt her. After all these years, she should know better than that.

Albus just lay there and stared at the ceiling and very slowly he began to calm down again. And then he began to wonder what in the name of Merlin had just happened? Of all the things they had argued about, this must have been the most stupid. He had always been protective of Minerva. It was just part of who he was. Minerva knew that. Yes, she got angry about it occasionally, but never like this. And what had gotten into him to drag his father into this? Minerva hadn't mentioned him with a single word.

Albus sighed. This was so not the time to be fighting. They had less than two weeks left here in Hogwarts. All Minerva had just complained about, he had only done that because he loved her so much. He had wanted to tell her that. He'd wanted to ask her what she had decided to do now that their time at school was almost over. He wished he'd done it earlier. He'd wanted to tell her that whatever she wanted to do, he didn't want to leave her.

But now… Albus wasn't sure what to do anymore. However, he was sure that they both needed time to calm down and think. If Minerva screwed up her NEWTs because of this mess, she would kill him, literally. So it was probably better to give her some space until everything was actually over. Albus only hoped that it wouldn't be too late then…

* * *

><p>The last exam was over. They had made it through their NEWTs. But this time Minerva wasn't busy wondering about her grades. Suddenly, she didn't really care about her NEWTs at all because tomorrow was the day of their graduation and then they were free to go their own way. The problem was that Minerva still didn't know which way to go.<p>

A few weeks ago she had still thought that she knew – she'd thought that she would be wherever Albus would be and figure out the rest later. But now they hadn't spoken to each other in days. Minerva suddenly began to panic. Tomorrow was their last day at Hogwarts. Would they just break up now after all these years because they'd had a fight about a stupid owl and Peeves? The thought was so ridiculous that Minerva would have laughed if she hadn't been so scared.

No, she was done being scared. The NEWTs were over. She had passed, that much was for certain, and it was time for her to take control. After all, she had started this whole mess. So now she needed the guts to clean it up again – no matter which way that would go. In any case, she had to talk to Albus because… she loved him, no matter how infuriating he could be at times. The only question was whether he was still willing to put up with her and her uncontrollable temper.

Minerva found him outside near the lake. He stood there and watched how the giant squid splashed about with some first-years. He had his back to her but Minerva didn't allow herself to slow down and take another moment to think about what she wanted to say.

"Albus!" she just called and to her relief he turned around to her immediately. "I'm sorry," she panted when she had reached him. "for… all the things I said. I don't know… I was stressed out, I was freaking out… You know me. I tend to do that, a lot, actually. And I know there's no reason for you to put up with that any longer… but I love you and I don't want to lose you."

"Lose me?" Albus repeated, sounding incredulous. "You won't ever lose me, Minerva, as long as you still want me. But I thought you didn't. I thought you didn't want to put up with _me_…"

Minerva shook her head. "No, what I said was stupid. You know me, Albus. Sometimes I'm just a little too proud… I guess it comes with being a Gryffindor _and_ a McGonagall."

"I think you are perfect just the way you are," Albus said, caressing her cheek. "And I said stupid things, too. Bringing up my father… that was way out of line."

"I would never compare you to him," Minerva nodded seriously. "I know you are nothing like him. I know you would never hurt me or let anything hurt me."

Albus smiled weakly. "Apparently, even some things that I should allow to hurt you."

Minerva bit her lip. "Well, why don't we agree that I put up with your over-protectiveness and you put up with my temper?"

"Sounds good to me," Albus whispered and then gave her a soft kiss. "I love you, Minerva. I don't want to live without you anymore. So I have to tell you that I'm planning on being wherever you are."

"Huh, that could be a problem because if you want to be wherever I am and I want to be wherever you are, then we might never leave here." Minerva smiled at him and it was so good to see him smile as well. "But if I remember correctly you once suggested something that involved travelling through Europe."

"I did, but if _I_ remember correctly you weren't so thrilled about that," Albus replied.

"That was when I thought you wanted to go without me."

"I do not," Albus said and intertwined his fingers with hers as if to prove it.

Minerva couldn't stop smiling. "Good, then I say let's go."

"Are you sure?" Albus asked.

"Yes, we'll still have the rest of our lives to start working. I think we can take a break first, unless of course you changed your mind and don't want to leave home."

Albus looked at her with so much love and affection in his eyes that Minerva had absolutely no more doubts that they were doing the right thing.

Finally Albus said, "I don't have to leave home to travel through Europe with you because you, Minerva, are my home."

He sealed their decision with a kiss. And although Minerva felt a little sad at the prospect of leaving Hogwarts, her happiness when she thought about her future with Albus was much greater.

And who knew, perhaps they would return to Hogwarts one day…

* * *

><p>AN: So, hope you liked it. And once again a huge thanks to all of you who read and reviewed this story!


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